Zombie Brother
by JeffC FTW
Summary: Discredited following the death of a patient, Dr. Sasuke Uchiha and his wife Sakura head to Jamaica where his estranged brother Itachi is ailing - but is it really a tropical fever or recorded disease? Or is there something more sinister at play...
1. Chapter 1

**Over Halloween I had enjoyed certain great classics, including "Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages" (a 1922 silent film) and "I Walked With a Zombie" released in 1943. The last month was rife on TCM with horror gems in black and white. As well was the Tales from the Crypt movie "Ritual", which was inspired by "I Walked With a Zombie" - these two and "Haxan" bring me to finally give what I carefully had to plan. Next week is Thanksgiving, so we're not gonna spoil Christmas next month with something meant to be horrific. XD**

 **Sasuke Uchiha is a young doctor in Los Angeles, engaged to his beloved fellow physician Sakura Haruno. When Sasuke is suspended following the death of a patient, the couple heads to the Caribbean where his estranged brother has mysteriously fallen ill - but Itachi appears more dead than alive. Can they solve the mystery behind his illness as well as the bizarre killings occurring?**

 **I own nothing of Naruto or the horror films that inspired this new fic.**

Chapter One

How could this have happened?

Why did she have to die?!

And worse: why did he have to suffer because he tried doing what he believed was the right thing...and in the end, it was for nothing?

His vision blurred when he read the letter from his and his fiancée's boss which impacted his world with a devastation that rivaled the fault this state rested on. He really could use a drink right now, or maybe a sleeping pill to pass out early, but she wouldn't approve when she came home to find him like this before she made dinner. And he wasn't even hungry tonight, either.

 _Sasuke Uchiha, MD._ Yeah, busting his balls through medical school when he left home with his girlfriend who got a full scholarship and wanted to get away from Japan for a better life in the states. During school, they both ended up getting citizenship and graduating both with their MDs after four years of undergraduate before passing the MCAT. It was rare for a couple like them to go together and pass together. Several years of this painful studying had been worth it. Both of them were now respectable doctors barely even thirty and working at the clinic. Survival rate was on and off, but with him and Sakura among the best, just how often would you find someone who never let a patient go without a fight?

They had been engaged for two years now. Things hadn't exactly been...enriching for them, and even though they had coworkers, their real friends were back home in Konoha, Japan. He just wanted more, and to get away from his family. Sakura was the first in her own to leave the impoverished life and took to America. Her relationship with her parents wasn't great, and neither was his - except his brother whom he hadn't spoken to in years. It was like Itachi to hardly pay attention to him anymore since they were kids.

Family estrangement aside, Sasuke Uchiha became a doctor because he didn't know what to do with his life as the spotlight had always been on Itachi - but it also gave him a purpose. Saving a life...but the times of failure made his temper break like there was no tomorrow.

Just like the night he lost Jennifer Grayson, an eight-year-old LA native with a severe stage of leukemia.

He would never forget the look in her eye as she pleaded with him to help her, still wearing the oxygen mask. There was one way to save her, and it had taken his chance to try and speak to the administrator herself, Tsunade, to let him use the new form of an already existing drug that was being created by Rock Lee, a good friend of Sakura's during undergraduate school, but the medical board, as the head doctor herself stated, took a hell of a while to compare compassionate use and the use of non-FDA approved drugs - and disastrous career consequences.

Tsunade was a good woman, Sakura looked up to her, and he should have known better. He clashed when he knew he was right, but this time, he went too far and paid for it. Within the night, he got the call and made it in time to Jennifer's room where the lines were flat. Electrical currents to the chest, oxygen pumps and an attempt to stimulate the heart - everything was futile. The little girl was gone. _And it's my fault._

 _You are a talented doctor, a caring man, and under no circumstances should you blame yourself for Jennifer's death. However, by prescribing Cyclophosphamide and by disobeying my specific instructions, you have compromised this institution's legal standing. I have no choice but to recommend that your license be_ _suspended_ _for no less than two years._

Sakura wasn't home yet. In a way, he was glad that she wouldn't have to be here - _yet_ \- to see the mess he was now. If she was going to judge him, then he ought to delay even if it made him feel worse. When he didn't even feel like it, he decided to get out the boneless steak and rice he chose to make for her when she got home because it gave him something to do.

But as he flipped the meat over in the pan, the rich scent making him feel even more nauseated than he was, the hideous word continued to repeat in his mind: suspended.

 _Suspended._

 _SUSPENDED._

The door opening made him nearly knock off the frying pan and burn his arm. He yelped in surprise and whirled around to see his fiancée coming in, equally startled as she didn't expect to see him home so early and making dinner which was her job. "Sasuke?" She was at a loss for words. "I heard some at work talking about..."

 _Joy, word gets around and comes around._ He had never lied to her before, but there were times he wished he didn't have to feel obligated to tell her anything. He wasn't fired, but it sounded horrid and a wicked blow to his pride. Suspended might be minor in comparison, but in a way, it still felt worse. He couldn't practice medicine for two years, and to be stuck at home while the woman he was getting married to would still go in to the place that now made him feel like a criminal was nightmarish. He couldn't stand to be inside all day, and to take that "easy" route wouldn't make it better. With his license on hold, who was going to accept him with his credentials and this mark on his record?

"Sweetheart, maybe you should change and let me finish for you," Sakura offered, pecking him on the cheek, but he pulled away. Any close contact was making him feel worse, and he just hurt her feelings.

"Thank you, but it's almost done," he muttered.

Dinner was silent, with the meat and the brown rice as well as side of greens, and she brought out one of the red wines she bought on her own salary because she wanted to. Knowing it was going to be her he would depend on for a certain amount of time made him feel ill and useless. She saw this and decided what she wanted to know could wait. Whatever she'd heard at the clinic amongst their colleagues - or did she talk to Tsunade in private? - she got enough. Her arms wrapped around his waist from behind when he decided to pick up the dishes for her and handle.

"We're going to make it through, Sasuke-kun."

~o~

 _Drums and chanting._

 _Distorted figures dancing._

 _Vividly outlined fires lapping._

 _A ceremony._

He didn't sleep that night because of what happened two days ago and that dream he had. Sasuke opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling which was streaked with lights penetrating the glass window; at night, the streets came alive with wilder, more dangerous activity. If he were a teenager again, irresponsible and craving adrenaline, he would have taken his old motorcycle and woke Sakura beside him to have a late-night ride for however long they wanted.

But those days were over. He was a responsible adult with a future - but it went down the drain because of himself. Compassion, his ass.

Compassion was what Sakura taught him to have around those who went to them regarding their health, and it settled in the first time he met a young man of eighteen who was a street biker, with a heart and a bad attitude in one after growing up with a stepmother on booze and his father absent much of the time. He really did try as hard as he could to amount, but nothing ever worked, so he ended up turning to drinking and picking up fights. It sounded like himself in his younger days, with absence of drinking and drugs. He would have fallen too deep in the pit if Sakura and Naruto hadn't been there - and Itachi. This had all occurred years after their mother died.

Sasuke pushed down the sheets, showing off his naked chest to no one in particular but the air that raised his gooseflesh and caused his nipples to harden. His sweat cooled the heat that had festered in his slumber. Beside him, Sakura lay on her side, back facing him, and snoring softly. He smiled and reached over to gently play with the strands of her short pink hair, not tugging because he didn't want to wake her. It was the middle of May. They were supposed to be married in a month from today, at the beach with their colleagues to witness, and it was a relief that it was in time for his disgrace.

 _I can just hear dear old_ Otou-san _telling me why he wondered that I could have been anything like Itachi._

He distracted himself by reaching for the top drawer of his bedside table, pulling it open and finding the little black box atop, and he opened it to show both her ring and his. The money he'd earned had been enough to get them, and you have any idea how much pink diamonds and white ones together were worth separate - much less _together?_ It had been a good thing that he'd saved up in five months after finishing school, getting both this and his. The moment his eyes laid on the warm rosy band encrusted with tiny white stones and a bubbling swirl of larger pink ones, it was like a magical dream that reality couldn't burn to ashes.

Finally, him: the state of California was infamous in the mid-1800s for the Gold Rush - this golden nugget thing was sectioned by silver. Nature was going to hug his finger for the rest of his life while she was fingered by eternal bliss. He snorted to himself; there was no such thing as eternal happiness, because it could only last one at a time. He might not have been able to do that to his career, but as long as she was beside him through thick and thin like now, then that was more than enough for him.

Except when their friends from Japan came along with their coworkers next month - oh, he was going to be the butt of gossip on that day - he could count one such person he doubted would attend. Or maybe he would just show up and surprise everyone.

~o~

First day of summer.

He had been unemployed for a month now, and yet he and his bride-to-be still managed to make it this far. He had been searching for a new job for a while, one that didn't require a license, but Sakura tried to assure him that it would be fine, and his limits were tested every time he heard those words.

Here he was standing now, before the arch that had been put together with help. It was twisted with branches, giving it the look of something under the sea, crawling with countless different seashells, and white gossamer draped from the top to cover the backdrop that was the turquoise ocean waters. His clothing wasn't anywhere near formal; he chose a loose white shirt and cargo shorts, standing barefoot in the sand, and the guests - a total of twenty - sat on white chairs, the aisle lined with balls of white flowers. He admitted he didn't really care about it as long as he married Sakura, leaving the planning mostly to her, yet now he found himself wanting to look at the details. Anything to not meet the eyes of those watching him.

His skin was breaking into sweat again, not only from the humiliation, but at the sight of his bride coming down his way, escorted by none other than Tsunade who was smiling at him, trying to be kind to him, but the sting of her suspending his license - even though she knew why he did what he had to, and it had been his choice - made his cheeks burn. _Sasuke, think about your wife and nothing else. This is what you waited for all your life. Be happy for once._

Focusing on his bride was what he did, and that also meant admiring how she dressed up for him. The dress was white, of course, with billowing sleeves that tightened at the wrists, was pushed off the shoulders, and had a peasant-like rustle around her curves. Over the back of her scalp, ear to ear, was a burst of pearls and crystal. She also still wore the radiant marquise-cut moonstones she preferred every day. Finally, a long rope of pearls suspended with a tear-shaped set of crystals in an Art Deco pattern, dripping with a tassel; in between the long rope and against her exposed skin was the pendant she loved so much.

 _The five rings, sparkling subtly, signifying unity._

His throat was dry just by the sight of her, his mind frying that he nearly lost track of the preacher's vows when he was asked if he would take this beautiful, fierce woman to be his wife as long as they lived, for better and worse, until death they parted. "Yes," he rasped.

When Sakura was asked the same, she replied in a choke, trying not to cry. When it came to the ring exchange, her eyes sparkled as brightly as the gems he slipped around her digit, which earned murmurs of praise at the choice.

The feeling of being married had never felt so good that he forgot about his problems for now. But then came the celebration by the docks, at the local bar and grill, which he had dreaded. That place had wonderful food and drink, but the last thing he wanted - and could not escape - was the talk of his near bringing down of their clinic regarding Rock Lee's invention which was going to be approved in a few months, he just learned.

 _In a few months, and here I am without a job for less than two more years._

If he had waited a few more months, he wouldn't have been in this mess. But life had no crystal ball and no direct routes.

Sakura sensed his impending gloom and leaned up to kiss him on the lips, hoping to distract him, and she did. Now he wanted to get them home even faster before the sun went down.

And when the rich evening colors came, here they were back at their apartment overlooking the beach and its surrounding small shops. The seagulls chirped their tune.

Neither of them said a word as they headed right for the bedroom. He was unbuttoning his shirt and turning his back to her, knowing she was doing the same. Somehow he felt this start being more...technical instead of something special. Despite sharing the same bed since moving in together, they never had sex. He stirred with knowing it would finally happen. When he unbuttoned his shorts and pushed them down along with his briefs, the air made his member stiffen with more heated blood. _This is our wedding night, not a physical examination._

Sasuke was just turning around when he felt his face heat up at seeing Sakura still in her undergarments while he was completely naked. But it also turned him on to see the triangular bra and bikini accentuating her breasts and the fork of her thighs, all tied with satiny ribbons. He could see through the sheer lace the small, dark outlines of her nipples and pubes. The garter she kept on even after he removed it during the reception was small and delicate, the little flowers set with a few pearls. Sasuke walked over and knelt before her just as she was sitting down on the foot of the bed. Take it slow was what he was going to do, starting with the little garment around her left thigh. He ended up caressing smooth skin smelling of strawberries, kissing it in trails north at the same time he pulled the garter south. He tugged it off her ankle at the same time he touched the base of her thigh where her triangle was.

She stiffened, holding her breath, trying to stay controlled. He smirked. Just watch; he might make her come undone soon enough. He could think of so many things he wanted to do with her, waiting so long for this. Most men were impatient to jump the gun with strippers in one night stands or in high school for rock relief - but here he was with a woman he actually loved. His brother had said that women were not baby machines or pleasure devices to be discarded after use. It was a lesson Sasuke would never forget.

The lace was removed - the bikini by him and the bra by its owner - so all of his new wife was seen for him. Sasuke settled in between her legs as he sat up on his knees on the foot of the bed, starting with both of her breasts, taking her nipples between his teeth to make her writhe and try to fight him off only to fail. He slid further onto the bed, pushing them both towards the pillows, and her legs wrapped around his waist.

He sank deep into her, breaking through the barrier in a single thrust, her muscles closing down on him as she stifled a little cry. Her hold around his shoulders and waist tightened, pleading with him to move. He made love to her slowly but firmly. They had the entire weekend off, so they were going to spend it here at home all day, then down at the beach, and no fancy resort to get away to. This was all he needed.

Love wasn't about money and impression; it was about working together and taking a day at a time, working with what you had already.

Somewhere late in the night, they were both awaken by the sound of his phone ringing. Grunting and scowling, he wondered who the hell it could be at this time of night. Not bothering to look at the caller ID, he growled, "Who is calling at this time of night?" It couldn't be Tsunade, Lee or anyone at the hospital, because they could have phoned Sakura instead of him directly - but then the rasping voice made him bolt upright in bed, startling his wife as she watched with doe-like eyes, just as shocked as he was.

 _"It's me,_ otouto. _"_

 **Cyclophosphamide is used to treat leukemia as well as other forms of cancer. This chemotherapy drug slows down or stops cell growth, and also works by decreasing your immune system's response to diseases. It can also treat kidney disease in children after other methods fail.**

 **Duh duh duh, big brother calls after all these years. Let's see what happens next. Review please. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Today has been horrid for me that I felt I had to distract myself by doing this new chapter. I'm trying not to clutter and force anything, so I'm letting it all flow naturally. If any of you didn't feel anything was, I'm sorry. I don't want to be pressured by anyone like I am now with the issues regarding my father. So, enjoy this new bit.**

Chapter Two

 _"It's me,_ otouto. _"_

It...it couldn't be... "Itachi," was all he could get out, and Sakura watched on, without a word and still stunned, but he loosened up enough to shake out of his disbelief and listened to what his brother had to say after all these years. He hadn't seen or spoken to Itachi since he left Japan, nor their father, and his brother never showed up today as predicted. "What do you want?"

He should have known better than to speak like that, because based on that harsh breathing, it didn't sound like his brother at all. _"I'm sorry I couldn't come today. I was held up."_

"Held up," he repeated dully. _Yeah, right._ "But is that the reason to reach me in the middle of the night on this end?"

 _"No, Sasuke. But you are a doctor; you can tell just by listening to the sound of my voice."_ A strangled coughing was heard on the other end, confirming his suspicions. Itachi was sick. But what was wrong?

"What's going on, _nii-san?_ What do you have?" Sakura's eyes relaxed by a fraction when she realized why his brother was calling them this late, and none other than on their wedding night. He must have known, and it could have been a sick joke of him to time like this, but it was urgent because of whatever illness he had.

Without a word and lifting a finger to his wife for her to keep her tongue from wagging, he put Itachi on speaker for the answer. _"- virus in my blood, but my last physician couldn't figure it out, and now he is dead. A month ago, he suffered a heart attack. He had diagnosed it as a form of encephalitis."_

 _Well, damn it all._ Encephalitis - his brother's brain must have caught an irritation, or a fever, while in someplace in the tropics, if he was not mistaken, but then again, it could also happen anywhere. "When did this happen?" Sasuke demanded.

 _"A year ago. But two years prior to now, I went to Saint Mary, Jamaica when Father passed, to inherit a piece of property of his, if you recall. We have not been there since we were boys,_ otouto. _"_ Oh, yes, he remembered that plantation well, but as Itachi said, it had been years. They never went back there ever since their mother, Mikoto, died from a tropical ailment, or something like that. Fugaku never liked the slightest mention of her after that. That was when he decided to start getting serious with Itachi and shifted the attention away from Sasuke, his precious little brother, who had always been so close with him. _"I wished to make things right there, change some ways that our father had left, but then I have become seriously sick. Dr. Winsvold was primary until he died, as I have said."_

So, he went to an old Jamaican property that had been their father's, before a year later, he fell prey to a disease that weakened his immune system and might as well eventually paralyze him. "Then why wait a month to call me and tell me now if you needed another doctor?"

A chuckle followed by another cough, and then another voice in the background appeared around the same time Itachi responded. _"I have another caregiver right now, but she's a nurse, so she could only do so much. Which is why, little brother...I wish for you and Sakura to come to Jamaica."_

~o~

To be called in the middle of the night on his wedding day by his older brother who was seriously ill - what a day, wasn't it? When he hung up, he turned to Sakura who had been quiet the entire time because it was brother to brother talking, but she had been dwelling this over and over in her head. "It's that serious...and for him to reach you at this time." She let the sentence hang then and there.

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed that morning over a cup of tea she made. First day of their weekend honeymoon at home, and here he was burdened with thoughts of his sick brother. "And to wait a month when his doctor died - why did he think of me now?" he asked angrily, wishing he could shatter his half-empty cup, but she wouldn't be happy he was vandalizing her dishware. His doctor, the American Peter Winsvold, suffered a heart attack a month ago, which must have happened around the time Sasuke had his license suspended. He didn't even feel like telling Itachi about his troubles...but since last night, he had been unable to go back to sleep because his mind was busy with this on the plate.

He should have had time to enjoy his weekend with his new wife, so damn Itachi for this.

 _I'm still a doctor, so I should do this as part of my job, give a damn - but this is still my brother, and how long has it been since we ever had time to see or talk to each other?_

In short: he needed a new job. A month of searching to get nothing in return was the last straw. He was tired of depending on Sakura. Twenty-three months left, and it seemed like forever. But the position would have to be overseas and in the Caribbean of all places. An island with hot, humid climate, bugs, poisonous snakes, airborne ailments, rashes and the likes. He'd have a field day with all kinds of patients, but that also meant he and Sakura could very much contract something while they were down there.

"How can we live like that?" Sakura asked when he told her this. "I could be just happy as a tourist there, but to live there while we care for your brother? I want to go with you because I don't feel right leaving you to deal with Itachi alone."

If she went with him, that meant a leave of absence for her, and that also meant who knew how long they would have to live in the tropics until - and _if -_ they cured Itachi. He had so many questions to ask him.

He and Sakura chose to cease this conversation after that morning, enjoying their weekend as promised, but by the end of the final day, she announced she would speak to Tsunade about this herself and see how they could make this work. Itachi didn't call again, but Sasuke had to constantly wait with his phone on his being, waiting with a nauseous stomach for no apparent reason. Their father was dead, but it didn't affect him much as he and Fugaku had never been close.

He spent the entire day thinking about possible treatments. Encephalitis cases generally consisted of certain vaccinations that were antiviral, anticonvulsants which were for seizures, and corticosteroids for the vertebrae. These procedures were supposed to take place in the hospital, but Itachi never mentioned anything about going to a medical center. Dr. Winsvold was his homecare? This made Sasuke shake his head.

When they got there, there would be blood tests and analyzing his other bodily fluids to make sure it was accurate.

He spent the day reading over the information he knew on the disease just for the hell of it, wracking his brain for a possible cause when in the end, he didn't have enough information to determine this. Itachi wasn't telling him something, and he wouldn't stand for this. _Sakura won't let this slide either._

He was sitting on the couch, enjoying an old silent picture called _Haxan,_ which was a combination of a documentary and horror tale about witchcraft and Satanism in the Middle Ages and up to the present day which became known as hysteria - if you called the early twenties "modern", which was the time this thing was released. Halfway through, his wife came home with a slight smile which told him the answer.

They were going to Jamaica.

~o~

He never cared about Fugaku's business, but he found himself wondering why his father had this plantation on an island in the Caribbean which was one of those that descended from slavery, and those days long passed and changed. In his knowledge, Jamaica gained its independence in 1962, but there were still a few who wanted to be a part of the British territory.

 _Why the hell would those people want to be part of the nation that had been among to import slave laborers?_

There was also a decline of tourism, and having outsiders had been part of the country's economy. Which narrowed down that life was hard for them. He read enough before they touched down four days later. Tsunade wished them both luck and promised to send the references; over there in the Caribbean, it wasn't required to have a registered license, but it was for the best for the hiring to know why Sasuke Uchiha's was on hold. His brother was going to learn what happened. He used to care about Itachi's opinion more than anything, but then they drifted apart, and in time he stopped trying altogether.

Flying was like a steerage. Cramped, spicy food, you name it. And the air conditioning was on-off, not bothering to stay moderate to accommodate. He was more than relieved when they landed in St. Mary. He was glad he wore his matching white cotton shirt and pants, because the fabric breathed. Sakura was in a loose pastel dress with a draping front. Itachi didn't call them back, but a woman named Shizune had taken his place to notify them someone was coming to pick them up and bring them to the estate. She was Itachi's current caregiver, having stated that Itachi got sick again and was so tired he passed out, and it was likely he would wake up the day after the couple would come.

"That's what's baffling me," Sakura had said after the call was over, brows crinkling. "Patients with encephalitis shouldn't pass out that way, but they are very drowsy and sometimes have trouble remembering. Maybe when he wakes up, he might forget he called us here." Sasuke was tempted to agree, but it was also a fifty-fifty means.

They caught the one waiting for them. A young man, African American, dressed brightly in yellow, held up a sign handwritten with a black sharpie: **DR. UCHIHA.** When he spotted them both, he smiled, displaying a mouthful of even white teeth. "Ah, a lovely pair like you! Both of you, very fine - are one of you Dr. Uchiha?"

"Yes, we are," Sakura answered. "I'm Sakura, and my husband Sasuke."

"Nice to meet you," Sasuke answered, offering his hand for a shake, wincing a little at the mild sweat gathered. _Probably because of this damned weather. Los Angeles wasn't worse than this._ "And your name?"

"I am J.B., and I come to take you to Itachi Uchiha place." He gestured for them to lead the way to a vehicle with opened sides, which was a bit of a bumpy ride, but it was because of the dirt roads they would take into the countryside. While still in town, the roads were just like American cities. "Me hear you come from Los Angeles. I dream of going to live there, you know?" J.B. said conversationally, pleasant in the mood, and it didn't seem forced at all just because it was his job.

Anybody wanted to come live in the states, but it wasn't always picture perfect, and the same could be said about this place. Famous beaches listed were the James Bond and Reggae Beaches, both of which included endless drinking, dining, and swimming under the sun. Lush mountains surrounded, the waters were pure crystal blue to match the sky, and the sands were nearly white, but turned darker taupe in shaded areas. The richest of celebrities could even make their homes here - and Fugaku Uchiha was one of them in his day.

Now Itachi, his eldest and heir, had the property himself. Here in Oracabessa, a small town in St. Mary, and the plantation was a few kilometers from the buildings and into the country where there were sugar cane crops as well as fruits like bananas, mangoes, papayas, and exquisite flora like hibiscus and orchid. The fruits and sugar mentioned were usually imported along with rum. These details known, Sakura piped that she also thought it sounded great with all those little facts that made a difference.

"Indeed, it's a paradise, but for tourists only," J.B. said somberly. "But for residential Jamaicans...life is very hard. The people are very, _very_ poor." Around them in the colorful painted houses which made him think about children's play spots, there were a few families, and several of them were working on building fire - and carrying machetes.

"What's with the machetes?" Sakura asked, fidgeting nervously. _Even young children!_

The answer was presented when they passed the fields: the vicious blades were used to cut down the crops - but also for protection against evil spirits. It made him scoff. He was a medicine man, not a specialist in witchcraft. "What is this country's basic religion?" Sasuke questioned, looking up and noticing the sky cloud over, which was his cue to remove his sunglasses, his skin and irises relieved to breathe again.

"Barely seventy percent Christian, one percent Abrahamic, and the rest is mixed - the common being _obeah._ "

This _obeah_ \- it was the West Indies version of voodoo. Associated with both sides of magic and mysticism, but Sasuke wasn't a believer in these things, and he doubted his wife ever was, although she was fascinated by subjects like this. It only worked if you could see and touch it, like these people believed. "I'll be damned if we find any of their charms around us," he muttered to her. She nudged him in response to be polite and respect their religion.

The Uchiha estate was towards the base of the mountains. They'd passed through small cliffs crawling with trees, vines and roots, and was shaded enough to give them the feeling of heading into unknown territory. In a sense, it was. Sasuke had not been here since he was a child.

There it was, dead ahead, when they got to the clearing. Majestic, white as a Roman or Greek structure, and the triangular roof was supported by four columns. The water fountain was in the center of a small French-style garden filled with hibiscus, greenery and ground orchids in splashes of color. Palm trees towered high. "Oh, how would you like to live like this?" Sakura breathed, palm against her heart.

Sasuke did not answer that.

They didn't pack too much, because they weren't going to live permanently. Two suitcases each was more than enough. When they walked inside, luggage still in the back of the car, a woman a few years older than them was on the phone with someone and just ending the conversation. She had dark hair like Sasuke, but cut short like Sakura and flattened to her skull. She was in a light blue blouse and fitted tan slacks. "Sasuke and Sakura," she said with a smile. "I'm Shizune, your brother's nurse."

Sasuke was half-tempted to believe she didn't look like a nurse, but appearances were deceiving. "You're not what I'd imagined you'd be," he said, half-teasing just because he liked to make his wife a little jealous about "flirting" with another woman in front of her.

"Yeah, well, most guys don't know what's coming until it hits them, if you know what I mean," Shizune said, laughing. "So, you both head out with me, since it's cooler, and we can talk about Itachi."

"Is he still sleeping?" Sakura asked. It had been less than a day since they were informed about his slip into unconsciousness, so it was likely. Shizune nodded grimly.

"He is, but he's stable, too." She sat down on one of the painted white wooden chairs by the opened French door, Sasuke took the one against the corner of the patio railing, and his wife on the opposite towards the small staircase. "So, Tsunade told me you both were wonderful - and what you did, Sasuke -" He held back his flinch. "- I was so happy to know that you never give up on a patient."

"It was something I taught him," Sakura said proudly, nudging him and making him feel better enough to smile. _Even though it resulted in my license suspended._

Shizune snickered. "Both of you, a team of fighters. Don't see that every day in every culture. Oh, Karin, thank you for coming," she said, looking up at the redheaded woman with matching eyes and a maid's outfit. She carried a tray of what looked like ice tea. He didn't realize how parched he was - and it was refreshing as hell, with a hint of mango. To see Sakura moaning in heaven made his body stir. "Dr. Uchiha - both of them," Shizune added with an awkward grin, "are staying here for awhile to care for Mr. Uchiha."

The girl raised an eyebrow as she looked at them, but her eyes flashed with something akin to instant attraction when she looked at HIM. "Itachi is my older brother," Sasuke said, clearing his throat and getting her attention back onto him. "And how long have you worked for him?"

"Three years," Karin answered. "And so has J.B. We're all like family. My parents and I moved here because they were friends with the Uchiha, but they died before I was employed here. If you both need anything, I am here." She then turned to leave them alone to enjoy their refreshments and to get back to the subject of Itachi.

"You've been married recently, correct?" Shizune asked when the woman was gone. Sakura grinned and proudly flashed her ring, which still sparkled without the light. "Oh, now that's something you don't see every day. Sasuke, I think you have better taste than most men I've met - and your brother, too."

Sasuke nodded and sipped more of the tea. He was sorely tempted to ask for the recipe to take back home. "Yeah, about Itachi. He told me that he had encephlitis."

"The best we can do is monitor him and give him the best healthy diet," Sakura added sadly, putting her half-finished glass onto the small wooden table between them. But Shizune had more to say - and it was nothing they had expected to hear.

"I hate to say this to you both, but I doubt it's easy. I shouldn't voice my opinions like this since I am just a nurse, but before you both came here, I took some liberties to examine his blood myself, and you won't believe it when I say what's there..."

 **Encephalitis on Wiki:**

 **"Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. Severity is variable. Symptoms may include headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include seizures, hallucinations, trouble speaking, memory problems, and problems with hearing. Causes of encephalitis include viruses such as herpes simplex virus or rabies, bacteria, fungus, or parasites. Other causes include autoimmune diseases and certain medication. In many cases, the cause remains unknown. Risk factors include a weak immune system. Diagnosis is typically based on symptoms and supported by blood tests, medical imaging, and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (the liquids found in the brain and spinal cord).**

 **Certain types are preventable with vaccines. Treatment may include antiviral medication (such as acyclovir), anticonvulsants and corticosteroids. Treatment generally takes place in hospital. Some people require artificial respiration. Once the immediate problem is under control, rehabilitation may be required. In 2015, encephalitis was estimated to have affected 4.3 million people and resulted in 150,000 deaths worldwide."**

 **When I did my research on Jamaica, it really is one of those countries with a history of slavery and its abolishment. Plus it is considered a paradise for tourists (with the beaches mentioned), but for those who lived on the island, life was impoverished, but Haiti ranks much higher on that list.**

 **Dr. Winsvold and J.B. the driver are all from "Tales From the Crypt: Ritual", but the doctor himself was one of the first to die in the beginning. He WAS mentioned to have a heart attack, but the reality was supernatural means...**


	3. Chapter 3

**There are a few rare medical conditions which term "zombie", or at the very least, the victim could believe they were a living dead roaming the earth, with no recollected memory, utterly depressed and unresponsive. One is called ALOC (alternative level of consciousness).**

Chapter Three

Shizune's account would have made another who wasn't a doctor turn white-haired, but on Sasuke and Sakura's part, it was just...strange. The symptoms of Itachi's condition was nothing new, except one.

 _"Your brother slipped into a coma twice in the past year, and there is no pattern to expect when the next time will be. But when it does happen, he is out for two weeks, monitored and kept hydrated by my hand and Karin's help, sometimes J.B., and Dr. Winsvold when he was still here. There are also some days where he would sit in his room and not respond - before he slips into comatose and after he wakes. He never acknowledges or speaks, not even a twitch. It's like he's a...zombie."_

To say that word was weird for her, and she did warn the couple that it would be. But it didn't come as a surprise since there were a few rare conditions in the world that made people believe they were living dead, nothing like the movies depicted in the west. In altered consciousness, the person could slip into stupor, sometimes becoming a coma. Causes could be exposure to venom or intoxicants.

Shizune let them know there was a laboratory in the back of the villa, in a small separate structure which looked almost like a pool house. It was complete with the swimming pool, as well, and more flowers. It was rich and sweet in appearance if you could hardly smell them. "I'm going to check that out," he told Sakura just as they arrived in the room they would be staying in, just as she was putting her bags down at the foot of the bed. He left his on the side of the bed which faced the doorway; her side was facing the balcony which was covered with a bamboo-strung curtain. The bed was covered with a quilt patterned with a rich, jewel-toned medallion flower and hung with gossamer curtains which also draped the boarded window. Air conditioning was a lacking in this country. The furniture was subdued, but also colorful with culture.

"I'm in love with this already," Sakura breathed, flopping facedown onto the bed they were going to share. "Admit it: this could be an extended honeymoon for us."

"Hn," he agreed, sitting down on the foot of the bed to take off his shoes and socks. He wanted his toes to also breathe and not catch fungus in this place. _Come to think of it, it might not be too bad._

In the discussion, Shizune also told them that the local clinic in town needed a new doctor ever since Winsvold died. His patients had generally seen her in house calls, but it was time they were taken off her hands since she was a mere nurse. Either he or Sakura could fill that position while the other took care of Itachi.

Sasuke was at a conflict. This was day one. He thought about letting his wife care for the sick children and families while he tended to his elder brother and tried to get to know him again, understand him like he used to; the other option would be to avoid Itachi altogether and have himself a real job again, even if the pay here might not be good. It was better than nothing at all - but then again, if he still knew Itachi better, his _aniki_ might offer him the services if he stayed home with him.

Thinking about that made him sick again. Depending on _Itachi_ who was on his sick bed was worse than leaning on Sakura in the last month.

"You're not gonna spend an hour with me on day one?" his wife purred as she slipped behind him and gently grazed his ear with her teeth. He shuddered; she knew his sensitive points too well. His body sizzled in places, and he chuckled in his throat. Gritting his teeth, he stood up, pulling away from her advances and disappointing her.

"Don't worry, blossom," he husked, leaning down to kiss her, "when I get back, you'll have me all night long..."

Her comeback was pulling the stretching front of her dress down to show the plump curves above her strapless black bra. She was going to kill him if she didn't let him go right now.

~o~

When he was finished examining the data in the computers - these systems had limited updated technology, but it was backed up in emergencies - he was more baffled than he ever was. There was Itachi's comatose states first dated on March fourteenth and then on August ninth, and that was a five-month gap. Ten months passed since then, so he was long overdue for the next, and to take a guess, the next one might be worse. But Shizune said the stupor was a two-week occurrence.

Itachi was known to have occasional headaches, a single seizure in October following the last lethargy, and sometimes poor appetite. His diet would be among key factors to keep on track. He was on prescribed medication, but that could only do so much. On most days, mostly in the late afternoon, he would become so drowsy he sometimes went to bed earlier than he should.

A brain scan image showed the abnormality, followed by several blood tests that matched. This was just what he needed most of all, without worries of getting into Itachi's stool. He'd done this before with patients, but because this was his brother, this felt a tad more personal that some things made him uncomfortable enough that he would leave to his wife.

All taken by one Peter Winsvold.

This wasn't any case of encephalitis he'd ever seen in his life. He planned to show Sakura when he was done. Printing it out, he folded it into his shirt breast pocket to leave.

When he got back to the room, Karin was just leaving, and when she saw him, her steps faltered a moment, a faint blush coming over her cheeks. "Dr. Uchiha, sir, I have made a meal for you and your wife. I hope it's good." She nodded without waiting for an answer, but he called after her to thank. A little squeak was the answer, making him chuckle with amusement. Sakura was bringing the tray over to bed, and he had an idea it would be food and bed - and he could think of many different things besides food.

The smell was delicious, and the dishes were made for two people, all being the same thing. The main plate was made of a steamed fish that he recognized as mackerel, followed by a bowl of soup filled with chicken, rice, tomatoes and dumplings. This was Jamaican chicken soup. Finally there was a pastry called bulla cake, which she said was made of ginger, molasses and nutmeg. "My mouth is watering, Dr. Uchiha," he rumbled, crawling onto the bed as he continued to watch the wooden tray be placed on the nightstand, but stopped when she _tsked_ and waved a finger in his face as if he was a naughty little boy.

"Nope, no food in bed until you take off those clothes, Dr. Uchiha," she returned, eyes glittering like the grasslands outside.

 _Oh, that's how it's gonna be? First, a striptease._ Snickering, Sasuke did as his lady commanded and unbuttoned his shirt, shrugging it off and letting it fall to the floor along with his pants and undergarments, and she did the same, feet surrounded by a pool of pink and black. There stood his wife with her proud, pert breasts and rosy modesty on display. The two of them moved in unison, not taking their eyes off each other, as they pulled down the covers and slid into the bed. Sakura brought the tray into their laps and then grabbed the utensils to take a piece of fish to slice off, then placed into his mouth. He hummed with heaven's divine at the cook's talent of the salted, tender meat on his taste buds.

The soup was excellent as well, and the bread was taken off in chunks to dip in. They enjoyed the food in comfortable silence, but her jiggling feminine curves distracted him and made him hungry more than the food. She was doing this on purpose.

After their bellies were full, their bodies were filled with so much energy that it meant a rapidly groaning bed with their lovemaking in the torrid Jamaican weather and rustic walls.

Later, when night fell, they were preparing for an early bed since tomorrow was when they would meet Itachi as soon as he awoke. Sakura in her white silk gown with sheer sleeves and lacy trims - suddenly he had an image of her rounded with their first child in the near future. It excited and frightened him; he wasn't sure how he could handle raising a baby with her full salary and his limited one. She slid into the bed with him as he spoke to her about the records he scanned in the lab, even showing her the printed papers as proof.

"As far as we know, no one ever seemed to figure out the origins of the malady," she told him, fingers folding up the bottom of the previous two months' time out of habit. "I don't know if we could do that with your brother, as much as we make him comfortable."

Antibiotics was the answer, but that depended entirely on what the cause was. Who knew how much longer Itachi had if they didn't hurry up with the investigation. He could mentally list off the known remedies.

Viral-caused ailments were tended to by antiviral meds. Sedatives helped the restless. Antibiotics were for bacteria. Steroids to reduce swelling in the brain. Fever fits were tended by acetaminophen, and if the brain was infected post, physical therapy was in order. Tomorrow, they would get started with their own ways.

Outside, drums could be heard through the windows. Sakura followed his gaze and grinned. _The drums of the jungle...mysterious and magical._

~o~

Thankfully, they could install a fan in their room so the humidity couldn't keep them awake all night. Sakura also didn't seem concerned about her hair even though back home, she kept it sleek and polished. _At night, no. But let's see about morning to come. My wife and all these feminine habits._

However, late in the night - he didn't want to see what time it was - he awoke, naked beneath the cotton sheets and the quilt shoved down to his and Sakura's ankles. She was on her side, facing him and curled into him, still in her nightgown. He wondered why she hardly seemed to wake over the slightest of things.

A tremor ran up his spine as he heard the rustling of trees and plants outside. Shadows danced over the bamboo and gossamer curtains, dark figures shapeless and lapping. Sasuke pushed down the sheets, careful not to wake his wife, and walked over to the window with the curtains, pushing them aside to look out and see if someone was trespassing the property.

He stiffened when he saw a _human figure_ gliding across the stoned pathway, through the gardens and towards the gate where a car was waiting, the back right door opened for the person. It was mostly dark that Sasuke couldn't see the face, but he caught certain features.

Long black hair cascading down a bare, muscled back that seemed to now stretch over the bones so you could see the spine. The rest of the body was shadowed, but it was obvious nudity. Having seen patients' bodies countless times, it didn't faze him.

The driver was none other than _J.B._ , and the man looked harried and frazzled as he closed the door for the unknown man - it had to be male, right? That broad body structure...that person seemed familiar, but who was it and where the hell were they going at this hour of the night?

The car drove away then, the gate closing after automatically. He never even got to see the face of the guy! But a sense of familiarity was set into his bones. He was too tired to find out, but it would settle in the morning. For all he knew, he might not think clearly at this time.

He slipped back into bed beside Sakura without another thought, passing out instantly from the tiring humidity...and dreamed again of that scene, the pictures now becoming clear.

 _Black and white, with pops of red to give an ominous but thrilling atmosphere._

 _Fires flared before faces painted with black-and-white skull-like images. Others were covered by native tribal masks._

 _Drums and wild hollers could very much wake the entire area._

 _And then there was the figure who stood out the most...a nude male with long black hair, his face obscured by the wild raven locks. His bare rear end was seen with the rest of his glory, but his utter most private parts cleverly blocked by shadows at every turn._

 _His body was against his control as he danced to the beat that spoke to whoever the god of these people was..._

 **Jamaican food is said to be spicy, mostly. When I looked at their different cuisines, my mouth watered at wanting to give the ones I chose for Sasuke and Sakura to try - especially the fish. :P**

 **Boy, oh, boy, Sasuke sees someone out there in this hour of the night, but who could it be? :S Sound like someone familiar? Let's find out...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Just what you all waited for: brother to brother. :D The mystery REALLY begins.**

Chapter Four

Morning got weirder. Sakura was up before him since she had more to take care of for appearances, but it wasn't long before he'd heard her cry out when she was in the small adjacent bathroom. Sasuke bolted out from the covers to join her - and stopped at what hung from wire on the showerhead.

 _"What the hell?!"_ they yelled at the same time.

It was a doll - a wooden doll with spikes all over its head. _A voodoo doll._ Something inside him snapped, and he went to yank it off. The thread was thin enough to snap by force. "Who would just leave this - and in OUR shower head?" Sakura asked furiously, taking it from him to look over. It was only one, but was it meant for them both?

"Well, I'd rather not find out now," Sasuke spat, glaring at the damned thing. "My brother and his condition is more of a real problem than some tropical superstition that won't work on us."

Half an hour later, they were dressed and ready to work.

"Are you nervous?" Sakura asked when they both stood outside the master bedroom door - the room where Itachi slept. No specified time was given as to when his brother would rouse, but here they were at eight in the morning. At home, hours to care for the patient were short, compared to outside at the clinic. But if you were wealthy, you could afford the best care. He sympathized with the poor people outside this place, when this country was rife with all kinds of disease. Sexually transmitted ones were definitely among.

Sasuke shook his head. He didn't trust his own voice. And after what he saw last night, that dream, he couldn't even begin to assume it coincided with coming all the way out here to tend to his terminally sick brother.

Sakura knocked on the door firmly but softly. This was her way to not be rude by going in without knocking, to make sure. A grunt was heard on the other side of the mahogany wood, followed by a strained call that the person was coming. His nerves jolted.

 _Itachi is awake._

The door opened, and there stood the man himself. Sasuke's breath hitched as he took in the sight of his elder brother for the first time in a decade.

"Oh, my God," Sakura whispered, looking at his face, then down and turning pinker than her hair.

Itachi was paler than he ever remembered, and his long hair was tied back, though it hadn't been brushed yet. He'd just woken up, that was why. His features were more prominent, but gloomy. There were dark shadows under his eyes, and the lines beneath his eyes deeper. His cheekbones were sharper. It appeared he lost a bit of weight, and his skin was shining with sweat from this damned weather. How he'd lived here all this time was beyond Sasuke.

But now to what made his wife blush: Itachi stood butt naked in his doorway, leaning off to the side, arm above his head against the frame, tiredly smiling. "It's been a long time, little brother."

"Itachi," he ground, "why are you naked?"

"It's hot here," the elder answered as if it was the most casual thing in the world. "As you have noted upon arrival."

"Well, put some clothes on so we can get started."

Itachi blinked, smile slipping. "We don't see each other for years, and that's the first thing you say to your big brother." He turned his back to them and walked back into his room, offering his ass to their eyes, which made Sakura clear her throat. "Oh, yes, Sakura. I haven't seen you in ages. I'm impressed you and my brother have made it together." Itachi had by then slipped on a thin robe of black silk sewn with gold birds.

"But I guess you heard what I did last month," Sasuke said bitterly.

"Had circumstances been different, I'd call you foolish for your actions - but I'm proud that you never give up." Itachi turned to him and smiled again, his eyes hooded.

His brother was telling him that he didn't care he'd illegally prescribed a non-approved new drug to a patient at her most severe stage, and he was right to choose him to help him with his dire condition. In a way, Sasuke felt glad he did come after all, but at the same time, everything felt too...strange. One, obviously: he hadn't spoken to Itachi for a long time. Second, the reason he was here was because he needed a job again, but this was also his older brother he was talking about...

Itachi's room looked like it was made for royalty, with the carved wooden furniture and the bed sprawled with more tribal blankets. Sasuke had a feeling all the bedrooms were the same with the windows and curtains. There was a jug of water - or whatever it was - beside the bed, and a glass and cloth. But the feature that hung on the bed was - "Itachi, do you really believe in that?!" he demanded angrily. The elder Uchiha looked at him with a half-upturned smirk.

"You got one, have you?"

"In our shower, yeah," Sakura said disgustedly, setting down her medical bag brought with her. "Please, have a seat." He did as she asked, choosing to sit in the maroon and gold love chair in the corner of the room beside a window. "When did you wake up?"

"At the same time you both came for me," Itachi answered, watching her put her stethoscope into her ears and then brought the circle to place over his chest. "Rotten luck that it would hit me just when you were close to arriving."

Sasuke sniffed. "Rotten luck that I had to have my license on hold and then come to depend on _you_ as we take care of your self," he pointed out, earning a warning look from Sakura to behave. She stepped in to keep a fight from breaking out. She could be peacemaker so much, but he and Itachi had to talk sooner or later.

"Itachi, why do you have that doll above your bed?" She gave Sasuke the thumbs up to let him know Itachi's heartbeat was normal.

" _Obeah,_ of course. It's a part of life here. A servant insisted I hang it for protection - but it only works if you believe in it." _You don't really believe in that then,_ aniki. "I wish I knew who put yours in your room - perhaps Karin?" he suggested with a blink. "She isn't a member of the church, but she respects the culture."

Karin - why didn't she give off that vibe? She wasn't even local. "I don't know why she would, but I won't let this nightmarish religion be put in our way of what is called reality," Sasuke stated coldly, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling out the paperwork he printed last night.

Itachi chuckled before swallowing a cough. "It's not as frightening as many would think it is," he said, swallowing a vitamin Sakura gave him. It wouldn't affect him, but it would give him some nourishment to his blood and bones. "Of course, there are the two sides of the same coin - good and evil - to obtain the balance. The locals believe if you don't take it seriously as they, it becomes nothing more than disco."

Sakura giggled a little. "Disco as in drinking and dancing hard?"

"Dance, drink plenty of rum, smoke - and your head goes to different places, basically. I've participated on occasion in the street celebrations." _Talk about getting loose._.. _now I have an idea what may be causing these problems._

"Itachi," Sasuke said, "may it have been something in their drinks or perhaps the air that got into your blood, as you clearly stated over the phone?"

Now Itachi's expression became hazed, looking up at him through his lids. "You could say that, Sasuke, but it's going to cross lines you won't believe. Surely Shizune might have hinted what could be the matter with me. I know full well you would never believe what could be wrong with me." His tone spoke of a dry attempt at humor, but his eyes were hard.

 _"There are also some days where he would sit in his room and not respond - before he slips into comatose and after he wakes. He never acknowledges or speaks, not even a twitch. It's like he's...zombie."_

"I find it hard to believe you could be turning into an undead. There is no such thing," Sasuke stated plainly, looking down at the data in his hands. "But there are rare diseases that make people believe they are, with a lack of memory of what they'd done, where they'd been and so on. They could get very sick and slip into comatose as you have. And with what you have now revealed to us, with the partying with the voodoo worshippers, it's likely to give us a new lead if it could very much be an intoxicant of some kind -"

He didn't expect his older brother to burst the way he did. Sakura yelped and stood on both feet just as Itachi lurched forward, eyes wild, hands gripping either armrest, and his lips pulled back into a snarl like a wild predator.

"I take back what I said about you being foolish, Sasuke," he croaked, snarling. "I assure you I did not take a poison to my knowledge. Dr. Winsvold couldn't even find such a thing you speak of except that it was a possible virus in the air. He took my blood and every other fluid sample to find the same thing and with dead ends. I'm beginning to wonder that I must have wasted my time if you're not willing to open your mind to new possibilities...foolish little brother."

Sasuke slowly stood up. He was ready to punch him, never mind this was his sickly brother, but Sakura stood between them with fire in her green eyes. "Stand down, Sasuke," she threatened, hand closed into a fist around the thermometer in hand - brandishing it as if it were a small dagger. She rarely showed this menacing side of her in their disagreements - but he might have crossed the line. And when you stepped in Sakura's path, make damned sure to not face the wrath of her fist.

Itachi chuckled as he watched the scene.

"...I'll be outside," Sasuke finally decided bitterly. He wasn't the sullen teenager anymore who used to pick fights to deal with his frustration, only to have big brother come to his rescue. He picked up his bag without a word, knowing Sakura could take care of him by herself. He didn't want to see him anymore today, but if he did, it would be too soon.

There was also still the matter of the clinic. Perhaps he could go into town and look into that, perhaps get some answers from a source that he thought was crazy as hell and against his better judgment, but who better than to ask _J.B._ to help?

 _Guess it means I have to do what he says if I am to get to the bottom of this. I don't like the idea of black magic and that mumbo-jumbo involved, but I don't have a choice._ That meant to cool down, get a drink of rum to relax, and when he was fit, be out there with J.B. and find someone who could help him with his brother.

Karin smiled sweetly at him as she brought him a mango juice along with spiced whisky. It was a combination of sweet and strong he thought was odd, since he didn't have a sweet tooth - but he admitted the soft drinks were a marvelous exception that put him in a pleasant mood.

Reclining on the porch where he and Sakura spoke to Shizune only yesterday, he looked upon the cloudy sky which had just released a fresh new shower onto the crops and made the roads muddier - and the people were working on the sugar canes for the season - he thought back to seeing the long-haired, nude stranger that J.B. took when no one was looking...except himself. And now to look at Itachi this morning...

 _Was that YOU,_ nii-san?

~o~

J.B. was driving again, because it gave him something to do despite the fact Sasuke could do it himself. "Seriously, both my brother and his nurse think he is a zombie," he said in frustration, looking out at the scenery as they passed by. "I mean, I looked at his records, and everything is as it should be for a patient with encephalitis - but then the word 'undead' is brought up. Itachi looks like a normal living human being -"

 _Except in his eyes. He had the light, but it was unfocused._

"Any guess when the next comatose episode could happen, Doc?" J.B. asked nervously, keeping his eye on the road. Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly.

"If no one saw his last two coming, now would be no exception. But when it does happen, then I know just how to deal with this. I've treated several with this ailment." _But third time could also mean...the final time for him. "Third time is the charm" - those words could be true._

The thought rose unbidden and at a time like this instead of before, because since it was Itachi, Sasuke Uchiha became afraid of losing his brother whom he knew he still loved so much despite all these years of being separate. It fueled his determination all the more. When he got home to Sakura, he was going to patch up his behavior and do what a good doctor would.

"My father could talk to you," J.B. told him with a cracked grin. "He a doctor like you - but no medical. He's a _houngan,_ a kind of voodoo priest."

 _Voodoo priest._ "Could he turn people into zombies then?" Sasuke asked, taking out his sunglasses to put over his eyes just as the sun was coming out. This startled his companion very much at the bold question about such things. "I'm asking just so I can understand. This is a long way from my field of expertise. How is it defined? Symptoms?"

There was a split second pause. "It's a...sickness of the soul. If your soul is ill, then you would know which medicines to give him."

The only medicines to give were ones related to the different forms of encephalitis. "Souls are still on the shelf beyond my own," Sasuke answered.

They were traveling further up the street and into bright green like Hawaii would be - he'd been there with Sakura during medical conferences, not for pleasure - and then descended into dark rainforest with the little cliffs...and then Sasuke spotted something utterly peculiar that he had to shout at J.B. to stop the car.

There, standing amid a collection of roots and vines, was a _man._ His face was painted with black-and-white, and a dull, faraway look was in his eye. He was staring right in their direction, but he made no effort to come their way. "J.B.," Sasuke uttered, "what is going on here?"

"Oh," the native said with a light laugh, "that is nothing to worry about, Doctor. It is a ceremony, like commuting with nature. Getting your head to stop thinking so much, so you could see more clear." The Uchiha nodded, biting his lip and urging him to drive them on away. That sight gave him the creeps.

But when that happened, the most horrifying moment that nearly got them both killed occurred when they were turning the corner on a cliff overlooking the forest below.

J.B. had mentioned how _hot_ he was getting, which was common in this country. Sasuke had offered to trade places and drive, but he was refused yet again. Wiping the brow was a warning sign he spotted himself, but he was still declined. And what was the final straw were the widening of the eyes, sudden burst of screams and jerking of the wheels as if he was trying to get them both away from something on the side, and they would have leaped overhead had Sasuke not grabbed the wheel himself and turned so they sailed over a fallen shrubbery and screeched to safety. The rumbling impact nearly threw him out of his own body.

"That's it, move over. I'm driving."

What the hell was going on in this crazy town?

~o~

J.B.'s father was Julian, a healer whom much of the town would go and see in desperate times for their "souls", and he'd mended them with success. The medical clinic wasn't a threat to his business either, so Sakura would have no trouble helping those people as well as accepting Julian's consulting.

Outside the worshipping house was an old man who was sitting down, chained around the ankles, which baffled him. "He was poisoned by dust, turned into a zombie," J.B. told him. "Keep him there so he don't go to work for the _obeah_ priest." By _obeah_ priest, he must have meant someone more...malevolent.

 _So...there is another around here. If J.B.'s father can't make zombies himself, then this marks him the white magic man and the other one wicked and black. Sasuke Uchiha, you really are starting to get weirder and weirder like these people._

Inside the holy house, he was reminded of one of the smaller shrines in America and the Shinto back home, except this had a wooden beam ceiling threatening to fall apart with age, and the windows were curtained heavily to allow in little light. There stood Christ on his crucifix at the altar. Beneath the blessed savior were several lit candles and painted figurines of religious icons, flowers scattered here and there. It wasn't long before Sasuke was brought out of his reverie by the arrival of Father Julian himself, his son right behind him.

"I want to ask your advice regarding me and my wife's patient - none other than my brother, Itachi Uchiha." Sasuke took a breath. "He thinks someone has made him into a zombie."

It felt like a sacrilege to say such a word within these walls, and the stern-faced man in white seemed to agree. "I cannot help you," he said. "Only the _obeah_ man. His magic to do such a thing to your brother is much more powerful than mine."

"Then can you put me in touch with this 'bigger man'?" Sasuke pressed. _If this voodoo man is doing anything to harm Itachi, there is going to be hell to pay._

The sudden fear on Julian's face made Sasuke think back to his son's erratic reaction on the road. Doctoral instincts kicking in, he lunged forward just as J.B. helped his father sit down, saying medicines wouldn't help. So, Sasuke could only stand by, feeling helpless and frazzled, but at least he had a few ideas of how to think rationally. Even if his once-clear vision had become more clouded, mixing science with black magic.

He was going to tell Sakura when he got back to the house. And when he returned, she and Shizune were leaving Itachi's room, both women turning and smiling when they saw him arrive, but what he had to say wiped it off their faces.

 **I wanna say thanks for those reviewing and supporting. I never expected so much like that. XD I guess I don't have to say it, but I will anyway: review appreciated for this one.**


	5. Chapter 5

**My family and I have OnDemand cable, so among the latest horror movies was one I first watched when I was still a young teenager, "The Serpent and the Rainbow". Plot follows an anthropologist (Bill Pullman) plunged into Haitian voodoo while looking for a potion that turned humans into zombies. It's based off a true story written by Wade Davis.**

Chapter Five

If Itachi was a "zombie" as he and Shizune speculated, and if Father Julian knew more than the medical doctors did, then Sasuke was willing to humor everyone while still keeping to his own beliefs. This wasn't something mental and spiritual that was easy to summon like you saw in the movies and read in the books, but it had to be none other than an intoxicant or poison.

Sasuke remembered a book he first read when he was younger, _The Serpent and the Rainbow_ by Wade Davis, whose account told of a man who had been a zombie for two years, the product of tetrodotoxin which was a powerful hallucinogenic herb extracted from the virulent _Datura_ flower. He'd seen pictures of it: the leaves were lobed or toothy in edges. The colors ranged from white to yellow, pink, and light purple. The fruits produced were small capsules like certain pills that split open to let the countless seeds disperse over the landscape to reproduce. Locations ranged from fertile to barren.

Both the book and movie had clear details, each similar and different. But the details were vividly clear about the crushed skull of a two-month dead infant, puffer fish, large dried _Bufo marinus_ toad, a dried sea worm, the plant _Albizzia,_ and "itching pea" also known as _Mucuna._

Except all of that was in Haiti; what about here, in Jamaica?

After the episode with both J.B. and his father, Sasuke chose to keep this on the side today, but that did not mean he would stall forever. The fight was far from over.

"Itachi is still the same as when you left," Sakura told him when they were both in the laboratory, looking over where the test tubes, the paperwork and certain test subjects - _cats_ \- were present in cages. Besides his brother, Sasuke could have no trouble finding others' for the clinic in town. When he brought this up, Sakura's eyes lit up.

"Gladly, I'll take charge and let you deal with big brother dearest." She batted her lashes at him, before her face twisted. "Don't think I'm an idiot to not think you were considering leaving him in my hands so you could avoid him. Sasuke Uchiha, that is the coward's way, or do I need to remind you, a grown ass man?" Now her eyes were like green fire, and that was nothing to screw around with.

 _You're right, I was a coward for thinking that way._

Which narrowed down to this plan: while his wife was preoccupied with what made her happy, he was going to do what he did best, and unlike back home, he might have no limit. But little did he know what a bigger fool he was for thinking that there was a price to pay even here in the Caribbean for meddling with things beyond his comprehension.

Shizune announced to them that there was going to be a dinner tonight, with a handful of guests very close to Itachi coming, and they were mostly people he worked with - including Karin and herself.

"Oh, what to wear for dinner," Sakura was saying that evening even though they both already knew, and she owned only two evening dresses - and here she was now in green, with a low-cut neck, beaded hibiscus flowers on the bust, and the skirt was flowing gossamer. Smoky moonstones dripped from her ears, the shade nearly matching her dress. She was the envy of the ladies tonight, he was sure of it.

He selected nothing too fancy, but he felt underdressed a little. He never enjoyed designer brands, so his dark blue collared shirt and dark dress pants were his selection. But his wife was ever supportive and kissed him on the cheek with a promise to make up for it later, which made him stir. They'd done it twice since they'd been married, and this tropical weather might be giving them both sexual fever by the end of each day. _Maybe living in Jamaica isn't half as bad, after all,_ he decided with a smirk.

He didn't recognize these faces who came to see Itachi, and speaking of which, his brother hadn't showed up yet, and wasn't he supposed to be HOST? He assumed, at first, that Itachi was taking care getting ready, or was he going to relapse again?

"I'll go check on him," he told Sakura, leaving her to mingle with the rest of the guests, since he was never as social as she was. Shizune called after him if he needed her help, but his brother and himself was his top priority. When he was at the door, he knocked three times, firmer than his wife.

But without a call to wait, the door opened, and Itachi stood there all dressed up, but his white shirt was buttoned down by five, showing some of his chest. Sasuke couldn't help but think this would be his way of breaking ladies' hearts. There he was, long raven hair in his ponytail below the nape of the neck, still pale and showing the shadows and lines beneath his eyes. But Sasuke always thought his brother was more perfect than he'd ever been.

Somehow, he thought he was. Here Itachi had been, taking care of the plantation left by their father, the people depending on him, but now he'd fallen seriously ill by bizarre means. And look at Sasuke: disgraced in America, now found his way back to _aniki_ who needed HIS help. Testing him yet again.

"Sasuke," Itachi drawled, swallowing another cough, "who'd have thought you would now be in the place I used to when we were boys? Coming to check on your _aniki_ who still isn't feeling well?"

"Brother," he said through his teeth, his nerves tested, "I was wondering if you were going to relapse before you were supposed to entertain your guests. I don't have that skill to be party host."

Itachi chuckled and agreed, closing his bedroom door behind him. "My apologies. But since you are here, you ought to learn to enjoy others' company instead of leaving it to your wife. That part of you hasn't changed, I see." He took Sasuke by the forearm and led the way, infuriating the younger Uchiha. He wasn't a damned child! Except it amused Itachi, so he let him bring him back to the guests, only to humor.

Everyone was at the long table which was arranged from end to end with tropical flowers. In front of them all - and his empty spot between Sakura and Shizune - was served squash soup as an appetizer. On the other side of his wife was a beautiful blonde woman who might be American, in a zebra-striped dress. Karin was also there, in a leopard print, which somewhat flattered her, but he couldn't say she was voluptuous like the blonde or his wife.

All applauded at the appearance of the host himself, who cleared his throat and smiled. "I apologize for keeping you all waiting," Itachi said, taking his seat at the head of the table. "I have been under the weather too many times in the past year, but hopefully with the help of my baby brother and sister-in-law -" He gestured to the couple. "- I might be restored to my old self in no time." He held up the glass of rum - alcohol and his condition, a bad mix, but Itachi wasn't a chronic drinker - for a toast. "To Sasuke and Sakura, and for this night of gathering." His dull eyes retained a faint sparkle.

"Let's eat, drink, and enjoy the party."

The evening was rather...smooth. Sasuke didn't think he would really find himself enjoying this without worries. Itachi was fine, for now, and he learned interesting information - if you could call a revelation about Karin interesting. He never met the girl, or if he did, then he might have forgotten since he had been a child. Her parents were friends with his and had moved here to help with the plantation, but after Mikoto died, Fugaku left it to her parents for a time - except around the same time his wife died, so had Karin's mother. This left her with her father to care for the estate, and when he, too, passed away just before Fugaku - both in separate countries, too - she was the maid in charge until Itachi came to claim his inheritance. Hence she'd been here for three years.

Both causes of the mothers' deaths revealed to be _poisoning._

Sasuke felt his blood grow a little cold when both his wife and Shizune whispered this to him at the table, like it was more sensitive to bring to the surface. He felt his blood boil. He couldn't ask Itachi now, not in front of people who knew him, but _Fugaku knew and had lied to him._ But the old man was dead, so no confrontation was in order.

"Sasuke, you can talk to him tomorrow," Sakura whispered to him. "Just enjoy tonight." He nodded, biting his tongue without a word.

Another interesting, slightly random fact from all of this: the spider was to _obeah_ like the snake was to voodoo. The arachnid was said to be the wisest of all creatures, no direct contact with the prey. Just standing by and waiting until the catch was in place, then struck at its most vulnerable.

The serpent had similarities, except it was quite the direct charmer, before devouring whole, slowly and painfully.

When the soup was slurped, Itachi sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes. "This smell and the delicacy made me feel better already. Far better than the filth Dr. Winsvold made me eat." This earned bouts of hysterical laughter from them all - even Sasuke. If he didn't know any better, he'd say Itachi was going to be fine for a few days longer.

Unless the seizures, the fever fits, and eventually the coma would strike inopportune.

The next course of dinner came when Itachi chose to ask Sakura directly how she herself was enjoying Jamaica. Jerk chicken was served with rice, black beans and plantain. "My husband and I are enjoying it very much, your lordship," Sakura said, batting her lashes. "In fact, I love learning something new every day in medicine and non-medical related." Her smile broadened into a devious grin that Sasuke couldn't imagine what "new" she had learned while he was retrieving his brother from the master bedroom.

"Today I learned what 'pum pum' meant."

That word he had no idea about made the men, including Itachi, nearly choke on either a drink or a piece of food, and the ladies stifled shrieking giggles. _What? What the hell is 'pum pum'?_ Unfortunately, everyone was too loose to answer him, so Sakura leaned up to whisper it into his ear, making him jerk and freeze in place. He was a doctor, so it shouldn't have surprised him that much.

It was the Jamaican term for female genitals. He really needed another drink.

~o~

When he and Itachi were boys, they learned the piano and flute. His older brother was at the piano, with Sasuke on the instrument of their native land, which was also part of the tropical islands and added joy and freedom.

Sakura and Karin were both the dancers to get on top of the table, taking off their heels and bumping their hips into each other without a care, and laughing. Sasuke had to make note of the way the men in the room watched his wife and the maid - and the husband of the blonde woman was one he had to narrow his eyes at. The blonde woman he learned was named Jackie Loans, a real estate agent, and Scott was her partner and spouse. He snickered to himself at how the surname was ironic to their profession.

He wondered why a real estate couple was here at his family's plantation, but he had a suspecting feeling that he wanted to ask Itachi - only for Jackie to lean over and raise her voice over the music to make conversation.

"Sasuke, your brother really is a hell of a musician! It's good to know you are just like him!" _Just like him...not less. For once, someone is saying I am equal to him._ "I haven't seen Itachi like this in a year. Scott and I are great friends with him just like we are with Superintendent Shimura."

Superintendent Shimura...who was that man? He never got to answer when she moved away from him to sit closer to Sakura who went to sit down after her energetic lash, leaning in to talk to her, and the music was so loud that he couldn't make out what they were talking about.

However, things got a bit ugly when Scott went to try and make a move on Karin who was still dancing, her skirt riding up a little higher than it should have to nearly expose what was under there, to which his wife exploded and went up to strike the hell out of him without shame. But before that, Sakura's face twisted at whatever Jackie told her that he could see it in her eyes: she was pissed off to no end but held back.

Itachi stopped playing his jazzy tune just as Sasuke knew he'd played enough. The man of the house himself tried to raise his voice only to fall with another coughing fit, the keys of the piano rapidly tuning to get everyone's attention.

The couple announced they were leaving then and there. Sasuke was far from amused by what he saw. Some men were such perverts. He didn't care what his wife was going to do to him when they were out of here. "Well, tonight was exciting," Itachi joked, laughing and running a hand through his hair over his shoulder. He yawned then. "I'm tired. I think I will retire."

"Doctor's orders then, big brother: head right to bed so you have full eight hours," he returned playfully, making the elder chuckle and leave him. He watched Itachi go with a smile. _It feels like old times, but different..._

However, when he was alone, there was Sakura standing there at the window, glaring out at the car that had long since vanished, which made him remember whatever it was that blonde woman said to her. "Sakura, what did she tell you?"

"I don't want to repeat it," she snapped. "But she insulted Karin without the maid knowing. She said, quote, 'You know, once the estate sells, I can't wait until the red-haired bitch will be hopping her way on the street where she belongs,'" Sakura mimicked, hands on her hips and swaying side to side once, snorting disgustedly. "I don't know Karin that well other than she seems pretty nice. I haven't seen anything repulsive about her. Respectful, but a bit red-cheeked. I saw the way she looked even at _you_ , baby." Her eyes narrowed as her smile deepened with mischief.

Sasuke was livid. How could that woman be such a -?! "Sakura-koi, I assure you that she has no interest by me," he swore, kissing her cheek. "But wait..." _You said that Itachi is going to sell the estate..._

Sakura nodded. "She thinks Itachi is screwing Karin - like your father had done to one of the servants and had an illegitimate child with her. Everyone knew it."

 _F-Father..._

He suddenly found he couldn't breathe. He stepped away from Sakura, his world spinning, and he found his back against the nearest wall. His stomach rolled, threatening to spill the food he'd eaten either through his mouth or in the back; the latter sounded even more disgusting. Because his father and a servant...

How could he do this to his own sons - to his _wife?!_ When did this happen? Before Sasuke was born, or after? He wouldn't get his chance to demand answers from the old man, long overdue. There was only one person who could.

The sky was black as midnight, but the night was still young. His knocks were more forceful that they brought the attention of the owner on the other side. Itachi had been ready to slip into bed, for he was wearing his silk robe. "Itachi, I need to know," Sasuke said heatedly. "What's this about the estate being on sale?"

"Sasuke." Itachi's tone spoke without words that this wasn't open for discussion.

"No, when were you going to tell me this?" Sasuke demanded. He never had a part in this, so why did he care? _Because the people out there depend on these lands. Itachi would never do such a thing to them, so what is going on?_

How about this: was Itachi so sick that he thought to give it away and die with nothing?

Itachi sighed and looked down at him without a blink. "I have no intentions to sell this which the poor people rely on. Our father, despite our differences, never would have agreed to such a thing either. This involves a man who clashed with Father when we were boys, tried to seize the estate himself on multiple occasions, and even after we returned to Konoha following Mother's death, the dispute continued. Her loss as well as the struggle to keep this part of our lives and the ones beneath us took its toll on Father which was left to me when he died."

 _This rival...could he be this "Shimura"?_ "Jackie told me about this 'Shimura', whoever he is. Is that the man?"

"...yes." Itachi made it plainly clear he was hoping this could have waited until morning, making Sasuke feel incredibly stupid and selfish. But he had one more question before he left. _But who was the woman Father had an affair with?_ Before he could ask, Itachi held up his hand. "I'm tired now, Sasuke. I wish to go to bed now. I promise I will tell you more tomorrow." Then he did the one thing that Sasuke never thought he would do again, not since they were children.

Two of Itachi's fingers touched his forehead, his affectionate way of saying "next time". The old sensation made his skin crawl pleasantly. He never thought he would feel that again.

"Good night, _aniki_."

 **In "Ritual", 'pum pum' is mentioned as the way Sakura tells her flustered hubby in front of the others. XD Imagine my laughter when I saw this moment, and the men's reactions to the joke was priceless. I don't know if such a term really exists in Jamaica.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

That dream came again in the night. The drums, the chants, fire, those painted faces...and the long-haired male in the mask dancing naked again...

Now he knew.

Sasuke bolted upwards in bed, this time waking his wife up. "Sasuke, what is it?!"

"Sakura, come with me," was all he could say. Time not important, he slid out of bed and pulled on some loose pants and a shirt, and she grabbed a wrap to cover herself as she followed him out of the bedroom. There was no point looking out the window; they were going straight for Itachi's room. He would have halted had he'd not seen the door cracked open.

Just as he predicted, Itachi was NOT in his room. The bedsheets were creased and deepened where a body had slept. "Where the hell could he be?" Sakura gasped sharply.

He shook his head. "I don't know, but we are going outside now to search the grounds."

Had everything about voodoo and black magic not come into the mix, Sasuke would have said that his brother was sleepwalking and then taken by J.B. - how much was the man hiding from him besides his brother? Both him and his father wouldn't tell him much; if they were trying to protect him from whatever - or _whoever_ \- was poisoning Itachi, then he was not going stop. He was going to fight this out.

Those damned drums could still be heard in the distance beyond the gates - and then he could have sworn he heard...

 _"Sasuke."_

"Sakura," he uttered, stopping at the end of the porch steps, "did you hear that?"

She looked at him with crinkled brows. "Hear what?"

Did that mean he just...imagined it? "You didn't hear anyone call - us?" He had to mention hers just to be safe, because if he said his solo, he might as well be going batshit insane. No damned jungle fever or witchcraft was going to fry his brain to no ends. And she would have said something was wrong with HER without wasting time, so as far as he was aware, Sakura was fine - much better than him - for the time being.

"...no." _Thought so. Someone is messing with me, that's all. They're not gonna scare me away that easily._ Or so he'd thought.

 _Those masked and painted faces appeared in his vision again - in colors of black, white and red. And then...then there_ he _was. The mask was removed, and he threw his head back with an expression of orgasmic bliss. Long hair spilled down his back, bare flesh shining with sweat._

Itachi.

"Itachi, are you here?" Sakura called, raising her flashlight that she'd grabbed with her, shining at every plant, flower and even the fountain - before a figure stepped out from the bushes, making her shriek and jump back. "Damn it, who the hell are you?!"

Sasuke took the flashlight from her since she was startled more than he was. The person who appeared was none other than J.B., dark brown skin broken out with perspiration. "I had to...talk to you without them knowing," he rasped out, sounding like he had gotten back from a long hike. But where was Itachi? Did he leave him up wherever the hell that ritual in his vision was taking place?

But wait, he also said - "Who is 'them', J.B.?" Sakura demanded.

"You mean the 'bigger man'?" Sasuke asked, taking in the familiar signs of the fever. And what he said made it worse instead of better.

"If I tell you both, I am dead. Please -" He stepped up closer to them, eyes wide with desperation. "- for your own sakes, leave this place tonight. Just run. They are more powerful than anything - and anyone. They make you sick physically, and it won't be long before you catch the fever. Your senses are gone, they get inside your mind..."

 _Man-induced fever...mind tricks..._

"...and the visions that come are the stuff your nightmares are made of. Now they give me the same sickness, as they did to your brother, Dr. Sasuke."

Sakura sputtered. "J.B., just so you know," she finally said harshly, slapping the back of her neck as if she'd felt a bug come to land, "we are not 'big', and we don't run from anything. We go with this and fight this out - J.B.?"

Sasuke had been lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that the man was gone. J.B. ran in fear for his own life, but he had limited time to run while they had the chance. But his wife was right; they never ran for themselves. _But these people...if they got J.B. as they got Itachi, then that means the danger is getting worse. We don't have much time._

When morning came, Itachi was in his room, but he sat in the chair dazed and looking ahead at nothing in particular. Except when the door opened, his eyes flickered in that direction to look at him, Sakura and Shizune who was right behind. A feeble smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

His eyes looked darker, duller...and deader.

~o~

Sasuke was glad his brother was back, but when he checked his signs, he caught nothing less than delirium. Itachi spoke little, threatened to doze off, and when the younger brother asked him where he was last night, the answer was muddied and almost inaudible.

"I...don't remember. Sleeping."

This was a sign that the next lapse into a coma was coming. Damn it. "Come on, can you stand?" Sasuke was going to put him back into bed. The elder nodded and wobbled on his legs, but he was supported by Sasuke and Sakura on either side, taking him over to the messed bed, and Sasuke did the honors of slipping off that robe, relieved to find Itachi wearing underwear this time, and helped him lay down. Sakura pulled the covers over him then, at the same time the door was harshly knocked on.

 _Who the hell is that?_ Shizune read his mind and bolted to the window to look out and see who was here. "Damn," she swore. "The Superintendent and his men are here."

Superintendent...as in _Superintendent Shimura. Oh, goodie, I'm finally gonna meet the man Itachi said tried to take this house from him._

Turned out the man was worse than he expected. His name was Danzo Shimura, and he appeared to be a mix of culture. English, perhaps Japanese - but he'd been here in Jamaica since he was a young man, and how he'd gotten to become chief of police was questionable, but one thing was for sure: no one dared to question him. Except the only one he clashed with on occasion despite the "truce" was none other than his older brother, Itachi Uchiha.

"Sasuke Uchiha, I presume," the man said. Without waiting for his answer, he hummed. "I would have guessed in a split second given you are uncanny to your father - Fugaku. One of the shrewdest men I have known in my time. I mean no judgment, but it's a pleasant surprise to finally meet you after all these years - and caring for your brother, nonetheless." The small smile was false and Sasuke knew it. There was an X-shaped scar on his chin, and half his face was wrapped in bandages so one eye was exposed. He looked like a walking mummy. Then that eye shifted to Sakura. "Your wife, I presume?"

"Yes," she answered coolly, for him. "Dr. Sakura Haruno - now Uchiha. Superintendent, you didn't just come here for introductions. What can we do for you?"

"Hmm." The old man was clearly amused and insulted by her fiery streak. "Well, to be blunt, the mutilated bodies of American real estate agents Jackie and Scott Loans were discovered in the jungle a few miles away from these lands." Shizune sucked in a breath and ran her hand over her eyes.

 _That woman who dared to mention my father's affair, that Itachi was NOT going to sell the estate to...she and her husband are_ dead! _My gods, who could have...?_ "Do you have any idea who did it?" he asked, keeping calm.

He did NOT like the smile on the old guy's face, nor his statement which halfway answered his question. "I would love to speak to your brother, if it will not be an issue."

"We just checked on Itachi," Sakura said. "He is sleeping after a long night of fits again. You don't want to wake him. And if you are wondering, he was here all night...if you're considering him a suspect." Sasuke held his breath; his wife was treading a bit too far with this. Sometimes she would go too far with her speech like he would with his actions. They hardly knew this man other than what Itachi and Shizune told them, so there would be no plans to make him an enemy while there was still important work to do.

He suspected Danzo Shimura might be keeping a good eye on them now that he knew they were here. "It's a pity," he said, the sympathy faux. "Just as it is that you both believe he is innocent when his...delicate condition can render him capable of many things..."

Shizune's sigh was heavily audible.

"Just what are you saying, Superintendent?" Sasuke demanded heatedly. "What we say is the truth. My brother was here all night, and I assure you we were all here together since the couple left after the dinner. There was nothing suspicious we were aware of. And as you frankly put it, his condition is delicate, but my wife and I are here to cure it."

Danzo chuckled. "It's all good and well, Doctor, but the loyalty of a brother can even be blind as a bat. When Itachi rouses, make sure you contact me immediately." He turned to leave, motioning for his men to follow him, but he paused and turned halfway around.

"I highly doubt you will be able to save your brother, Sasuke Uchiha."

~o~

"Sasuke, what the hell will we do - and what did we just do?" his wife asked angrily as she took a cup of red hibiscus tea to swallow, then put it down on the tea service. "We just lied to a man of the law and covered for Itachi. We might as well be in big trouble over this, and you know what they do to liars and obstructers in the Caribbean?"

 _Much worse than America._ "No matter," he said as they left the house and made way to the laboratory in the back. "If we can work fast, then we can evade his wrinkled eye faster." _Well, this country was once under British hold until it broke free in '62, but here is this man as Superintendent instead of someone local. But how is this less worse than that? It's not like law-abiding is any fairer than home or the states. But Danzo...he's gonna be a thorn in our sides._

"Oh, hell, you got to be kidding me," Sakura hissed when she opened the door and saw the paperwork scattered over the great island table - and another blasted wooden doll was in the mess. She crossed over and picked it up only to throw it onto the floor and kick at it. "Sasuke-kun, you think it's funny? Someone comes in and plays this damned prank on us? And who the hell is the 'bigger man' that Father Julian spoke about?" Her rants increased with each raise of her voice. "How do we find him when we don't even know what is causing your brother's sickness?"

These questions just kept increasing and made his headache worse. He really wanted to find out what and how this voodoo shit was affecting his _nii-san_ ; besides his wife, Itachi was the only family he had left. And what would this place do without Itachi? This beautiful island which he worked to keep flourishing and happy for the people that were born and grew up here, and what would Danzo do to it all if he got his hands on it?

"Finding that answer is far more complex than you thought, eh, _otouto_?"

"Itachi! You shouldn't be out of bed after we just checked on you!" he scolded when he saw the elder leaning in the doorway in his robe, feet bare and muscled calves revealed. "And what if that Danzo is spying on you -?"

"Danzo is no problem of mine if you yourself are on the right track, Sasuke," Itachi interrupted calmly, before, out of the blue, he was wracked by a few sharp gasps of air. He staggered into the mussed laboratory, both Sasuke and Sakura moving forward to help him sit in the chair at the computer, which hadn't been touched at all. "But...you think I killed two very good friends of mine - both of whom were also backstabbers and in league with Danzo," he sneered then, looking up at his brother and sister-in-law with slightly twisted features.

 _Oh, yes, now I get to the bottom of his nightly trips._ "Well, I would love to know where you were last night - and where the hell you go every night," Sasuke answered heatedly. "You look like you are sleepwalking, and J.B. takes you..." Again, he was interrupted.

"Sasuke, I have these...blackouts. It's a fever; much of the time, I don't recall my actions other than sitting in place, then lapsing into darkness and waking again to the same thing. I have these...visions." _Common symptom of encephalitis_ : _hallucinations and delirium._ "Everything takes me over. I feel like my will is taken away from me." He cleared his throat and leaned back in the chair. "Remember when we were boys, little brother, when Father took us and Mother to those ceremonies in the mountains...?"

Sasuke's mind triggered at once, but his feet were glued to the floor.

"Besides the street entertainment, I began to go back, two years ago when Father died. But it wasn't a will of my own, as I have said."

So, wait, if he started going to voodoo rituals in the mountains, why couldn't Itachi cease this? _"Because I cannot" - that's what he said. He wants to but can't. Except...he isn't aware. He's not supposed to be aware, or did he purposefully keep that information from us and Shizune? Dr. Winsvold?_

 _Or is someone doing this to him to keep his mouth shut - like the 'bigger man'?_

"Itachi," he said finally, "if all of this is true, and someone is turning you into a zombie, then I am going to need a sample of your blood."

~o~

Shizune drove him into town herself, leaving Sakura at the house. She was supposed to go into the clinic today, but someone had to watch Itachi for him as well as make sure no spies of Danzo - or Danzo himself - would be traipsing the property. Of course, when they did arrive at the clinic, the lovely dark-skinned physician told him that she would have to analyze his brother's blood during the night shift, so he would have the results by morning. That was sooner than later on his level of satisfaction.

Getting home, he saw his wife in her one-shouldered black bikini and Itachi in black-and-red swimming trunks, which shocked him. "We're going to the beach, Sasuke!" Sakura called with a bright grin on her face.

"The water is fine, little brother!" Itachi added, his skin having a remarkably healthy tone, and the shadows beneath his eyes seemed lighter, for some reason. _For someone considered to be a zombie._

Shizune looked at him with a little beam of her own. "Why not, Sasuke? All work and no play can drive a man insane," she teased, winking. Looking back at his family, and knowing the test results would come in the morning, Sasuke decided that a break and innocent fun would be healthy for both him and Sakura as well as his brother.

"Just let me get my shorts."

~o~

Tropical drinks under palm trees, splashing in the crystal waters, relishing the sun on your skin to soak up Vitamin D? It was the paradise he and his new wife would have enjoyed had they'd had the money to afford a dream vacation.

This sickness wasn't epidemic, didn't spread to others - and Itachi had been so frail when he arrived, but it seemed that with his presence, he was simply improving. Sasuke observed this when the sun went down, and they were back at the estate, on the porch of the kitchen, and he was helping Karin and Sakura chop up the food, smiling like there was nothing wrong in the world.

Like he wasn't a zombie. Like there was no real danger around them.

But when he and Shizune were outside setting up the table, he had to ask her some more. _Sasuke, you're making too much work out of this. But you want him to get better, don't you?_ "My brother could be dead in six months, but he looks so...happy now," he told her.

"Well, I could be dead tomorrow," she joked, taking up the glass of dark green juice she'd made. "But as for how radiant he looks - he's just happy that his baby brother is home. I haven't seen him this happy in who knows how long. As for death, you could be dead tonight, but people don't think about that kind of thing." He exhaled and decided he had no choice but to accept. "Just drink some root juice and go to different places..."

A little meow was heard, and a cute little white-and-amber feline appeared at her feet, making her giggle and pick the beast up. Sasuke remembered loving cats so much as a child. They used to take in strays until Fugaku ordered them to give the poor animals to the shelter. He and Sakura considered adopting a feline for a pet but never had the chance, because the question would be who was going to be around to feed it and take care of it.

"I also do some veterinary work," Shizune told him, rubbing along the spine of the kitty as it purred against her face. "I love animals as much as I love people."

Chuckling, Sasuke brought the glass of root juice to his mouth, which the woman said would make him purr louder than the pussycat Hercules was doing. But when he took his first sip, there were no words to describe how strong and bitter it was, like certain medication.

"It's great." _Liar._

The more time he spent that evening with his brother, sharing good drinks, he felt closer to him like they had been as children. Almost ten years had vanished as if they'd never been. And he got along very well with Sakura, to which he brought up he regretted not being there for the wedding. Sadness tinged within Sasuke before he shoved it down.

At some point, on his second glass of that sickening but refreshing juice, he made eye contact with a sleek black feline with blue eyes in a cage, which was written on the tag with the name "Suzie", was aged four -

\- and most of all, **F.E.L.V.** \- _feline leukemia virus._

The poor creature had a retrovirus, a bacteria transmitted through saliva or nasal secretions. If the animal's immune system didn't defeat it, then the result was death. His heart sank when he met those eyes with his, the mewling pitiful. "What are you looking at?" he cooed, wishing he could reach into the cage to pet it, but he wouldn't take chances of infection.

Itachi caught what he was doing and chuckled. "I considered getting a feline of my own, but I didn't want to risk passing on my condition to the poor beast. Have you and Sakura -?"

"We talked about it," he answered, "but no chance yet. Both our schedules, and now you, so it's not in stone." His brother's face fell a little before it returned to normal. His hand not holding his glass came up to rest on Sasuke's shoulder, and he leaned forward to touch his lightly damp forehead against the younger's dry one.

"Thank you, Sasuke, for being here for me. I really have missed my baby brother who has always meant more to me than even our father - or perhaps all these lands."

~o~

 _Those drums again - but this time, they were closer than expected. His vision was crystal clear as he found himself face to face with the ceremony in black, white and red...but the colors were more pronounced like his real world._

 _He was here, standing, and feeling naked but was sure he was garbed lightly. But how did he get here?_

 _The song they sang was...exquisite. He felt himself being lifted off his feet even though he was still standing on the earth. The great bonfire roared higher. One man in black, painted like the traditional voodoo skull-face, weaved a sword in his hand as a couple girls in white swirled to flank his sides._

 _Beyond, he could see the lone figure behind the fire. Long black hair loose over the shoulders. A lithe, muscular body shining with salty sweat. No mask so he saw the chiseled face that resembled his own._ "ITACHI!" _he screamed out over the music, hoping to their gods that he'd been heard. This place...these people...this horrifying, primitive feeling..._

 _Itachi's eyes were closed, but upon hearing his name, they opened up - and he screamed when he saw those eyes did not belong to his beloved older brother, but to something else._

 _Midnight black surrounded an iris of swirling red. The smile that accompanied it was leering and demonic. Savage as the devil himself. And when "Itachi" started taking steps forward, the entire front of his body - which a brother should never have to see - was seen to send him off the cliff of his ruptured sanity._

~o~

"SASUKE! SASUKE, WAKE UP!"

He'd thrashed and screamed in his sleep. He remembered nothing of that, but when you had a nightmare like the one had, then bad was a severe understatement. Sakura had awoken to his wails and his jerks in bed, screaming for Shizune who ran in, and Itachi after her. Sasuke did not remember suffocating, but his wife told him she had to perform CPR and had to pump his heart as many times as she could.

Looking at Itachi made him think about the vision he had. He was home here, safe and sound, not called by whoever was up in those cursed mountains. It appeared they didn't need him tonight...but now with Sasuke's episode, he started to have doubts once more - even when he asked them if they heard the drums. He told them the dream.

The looks on their faces...his wife was clearly frightened, Shizune disbelieved, and his brother worse, for there were no words for Itachi. The same idea reflected in their eyes as he was thinking that night.

 _I may have contracted the virus my brother has._

 **F.E.L.V is a feline virus that is absolutely fatal if untreated in cats - and humans if passed on via saliva and snot. (shudders). But it doesn't mean it isn't curable.**

 **In "I Walked With a Zombie", there is a wonderful scene where the nurse takes her patient (the zombie wife) to the houmfort, which is the voodoo temple, and there is a ritual going on with a sword, dancing and exciting singing. It's basically letting yourself get loose, and then a spirit or god will enter one person's body to speak to them and through them to the other people. Point is, that scene brought forth the dream sequence. :D It was really fun but also scary to write.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Last chapter's dream sequence, I forgot to mention: zombie Itachi looked almost like his Edo Tensei in ninja-canon. (shivers) Think about that in real life imagery, or someone cosplaying him. I saw pictures of guys and ladies in the reanimated Itachi costume, especially the eyes...ink black with the red Sharingan. It was so grotesque and nightmare-inducing, but it was also so fascinating.**

Chapter Seven

 _How could I have gotten this virus? I didn't get spittle or anything from my brother...unless somehow I did and wasn't aware._

What did it matter? Here he was now at the clinic, with his wife now kept busy and talking to the staff about finally joining them. He felt very tired, not only because of yesterday, but also because of last night. That dream - _vivid; Itachi with those eyes, looking like a real zombie_ \- it made him lapse into shock and then thrash with the symptoms of encephalitis, but as he knew, it never spread like an epidemic.

But how the hell did he get it? _Unless it's not really encephalitis..._

"Well, Dr. Uchiha, I can tell you it is a virus I have seen before - a retrovirus. RNA converting into DNA...but at the same time, I haven't seen anything like it," the doctor told him grimly.

Well, luck had gotten all the more rotten. Retroviruses could be treated - if you could make the cure with the right sources. Sasuke nodded, accepting this, before offering her his arm. Sakura and Itachi were outside waiting for him to break the news, but this came first. The woman looked confused for a moment as to why he would extend his arm for her to take a sample of his blood.

"I may have the virus as well," Sasuke answered. "Unless I know it is a match to what my brother has, then I'll try to figure out what caused this."

Deed done, blood sample taken, now he sat where he was and waited for the results. But then the phone inside rang, and he was informed that Shizune was on the phone. He frowned but took it anyway. "Shizune?" he asked curiously.

 _"Sasuke, I may have an idea to the problem now. It's a hunch, but it is worth checking out. I have the samples set and ready, no one else knowing but me. When you get back, we're going to look together."_

Hope rose in him. Could this be what his clouded brain was trying to...? "In that case," he said, "we'll be back at the house soon."

And just as he guessed: the virus was the same as Itachi. But the woman said it was unrecognizable to her, therefore she had no name to give him, and she'd insisted he leave because she had more patients to handle. He was bristled, but he was a doctor himself, so he understood, and so he thanked her and left her office to join his brother. Sakura was going to be busy the rest of the day, but he could handle this without her.

But Itachi's face was hard as hell, threatening to lose his cool as they left together and took his car. " _Aniki,_ what is it?" he asked, and he got a hiss.

"Danzo," was all his brother said. Sasuke snapped; that was it, they were going to the house. The man wasn't there, but on the way, Itachi had explained that they spoke on his mobile that the Superintendent had an "interesting" conversation regarding his "fragile condition".

"You should have called him as soon as I was awake, he said. Sasuke, you're in deep now, but he won't make a move to arrest you and interrogate you yet, but you will not believe what he said. He thought the property was his for years even before our father claimed it, just because his family was among to own these lands. If this estate is sold, it will put everyone it depends on out of home and job. I won't let Danzo get his hands on it based on a personal vendetta." His hands tightened in his lap, the skin stretching to show white on the knuckles.

 _That was why those real estate brokers were here. They were with Danzo, and perhaps pretended to befriend Itachi just to get close to him._ "What is more," Itachi went on, "he thinks to use my condition against me to take it by force, to show I am not capable of running these lands. He's going to play dirty, no matter what it takes or how it looks. Just as he has done with the crime rate; it has been his way of 'keeping the streets clean', just as he will do with the estate."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and turned on the road, ignoring how bumpy it was. He had no intent to get them both killed, but his blood was boiling to high point. "Who does Danzo think he is?" he seethed. "He clearly doesn't care about the people's lives, nor does he feel he is responsible for them."

"Yes, little brother. But all these years, Father had only done so much, and I have really done all I could to keep Danzo at bay, to keep him out of my business as long as I was out of his - but look at me now, and he's taking this opportunity." Sighing sharply, Itachi turned his body to lean out the window for fresh air. He had AC, but it seemed he liked natural better because it made him feel energized.

"He said, quote, 'agriculture is no longer profitable', but it is as long as the people have a purpose. What will I do about Karin? She's as much family as you and Sakura are to me."

 _Karin._ An idea dawned on Sasuke when he realized she might be able to help him out, since he hardly ever asked her for anything. His wife was at the clinic, Itachi was dealing with the Danzo mess - but Shizune was nowhere to be found, as soon as he discovered in the lab and throughout the house.

What had happened to her? Did she get called away? Or was she...abducted? _No, that doesn't sound right. Oh, no...what if Danzo...?_ But his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of whimpering. With a frown, Sasuke walked around the lab table and sucked in a breath at the sight of the quivering mess that was Karin. "My God, what are you doing down there?" She was huddled into the space where the stool was supposed to be shoved all the way in, knees drawn to her chest, and her glasses were crooked. Her nose was red.

"...the gods," she moaned, one hand clutching something against her chest, and the beaded chain made him think about a rosary.

What she said about "gods" didn't make sense, but here she was. "Look, can you help me about Itachi? That Danzo is breathing down all our necks now, Shizune is gone -" _And she didn't even tell me what she wanted to show me that she'd found. But I didn't get to look around, either._ "- and my wife is at the clinic. J.B. is fearful of his life, so you're all I have left."

He expected her to refuse out of fear, but to his surprise, she nodded vigorously while still breathlessly weeping.

~o~

"Does everyone believe in _obeah?_ " he asked her when she drove a beatup that she owned with what money she had. He was actually doing the driving while she was holding onto the cross and a small bag of items wrapped up in her lap.

Unlike earlier, Karin had calmed down a little to answer some of his questions. "Well, you know Haiti itself is ninety-five percent Catholic, but one hundred percent voodoo. But here in Jamaica where _obeah_ is concerned...people don't like to talk about it," she said in a hushed voice as if they were being listened in on one of the gods of this religion.

Sasuke looked ahead at the road as the sun was reaching its middle peak in the sky. "And Julian," Karin added, "I don't know if he will help you, because he is also afraid." _Based on his violent reaction in the church, I remember._

"I know," Sasuke said somberly, but the man was another last hope. He might not be able to make a zombie, but he must know how - technically. Poison was a definite, but what ingredients were required? This wasn't Haiti and _The Serpent and the Rainbow_ , but some kind of flower had to be around these parts. "But we can tell him his son is also sick, and the only way we can help him is if we can figure out who is infecting these people like they did to my brother. He told me there was a 'bigger man' who is even more powerful than he is."

"He only does white magic!" the redheaded woman insisted. "He heals people. But this bigger man..." She bit her bottom lip. "...he took your brother's soul...poor Itachi..." Her eyes glazed, and her hand went up to cover them. "I swear that I don't know who he is."

She was more frightened than J.B. appeared to be, but she was telling the truth. She wasn't purposefully trying to hide from him. "Itachi is such a good man. When he got sick, we all thought he was going to die, but he's lasted this long. He even wrote his will and wanted to leave it all to you and your wife - he wanted you to care for the people who lived here. He believed in you, Sasuke. Itachi has done so much for all these people; do you know anybody so good?" Sasuke couldn't answer; something inside him cracked. His elder brother was even better than their father ever was.

 _Don't worry, Itachi. No matter everyone fearful, you'll be yourself again, and we will get the one who is doing all of this. I don't care that this guy has "magic powers" - science is even more clever than witchcraft._ And he wasn't afraid to admit it either.

He had to wait outside the church this time while Karin sought Julian out, and when she did, she waved excitedly over to him - what happened, did a bomb drop on her that she felt more hopeful than fearful? It didn't matter. Sasuke was pleased that he would try and get through to the man without HIM having to suffer the Uchiha's consequences.

"I can give you certain remedies to give your brother," he was saying when he led them both into the back room where he kept ingredients to the potions he made for the people sick in the soul.

Sasuke nodded, although he didn't see any labels to the ones he wanted exactly. "They all look promising, but -" He hesitated momentarily. "- I understand you don't deal with this, but is there anything that could be used to make a zombie?"

Julian stiffened. "I do _not_ make zombies."

"But technically, there could be a way," Sasuke said. "I don't want you to do it, but suppose it was possible for it to happen." This made the man calm a little to answer.

"To make a zombie, you need a lot of hate in your heart - and anger. But not only that, you need a specific poison." His eyes hardened then. "This isn't for the outside world to know."

Karin leaned in to whisper in his ear. "He could make a zombie if he wanted to, but he won't." _Right, because as he made it crystal clear, you need to hate very much. But my brother went in and out of this stage because of an unknown enemy._

"Yes...it's a powder. A poison like they used in the Gulf War - biochemical poison. It will not kill, but it will only take away the humanity of the man...the _soul._ " Sasuke held his breath when he thought about the _tetrodotoxin_ , none other - used to prevent the nervous system from working, the muscles flexing in response to stimulation. It was like you were there...but you really weren't.

 _In other words: living death. Literally._ "Is this...permanent?" he asked softly, remembering the guy J.B. pointed out when he first came here. "Like that man chained outside?"

"It is permanent if you don't give the cure on time," Julian answered. "There is a cure that exists."

There were no words to describe the feeling in his body that he had gotten the help he needed. But somehow this felt TOO easy... _no, Sasuke, don't think like that. You got close enough of a solid lead than you've had in the last few days. This is much faster progress than you've had in all your years in MD._

~o~

So, there WAS a poisonous powder that rendered the victim zombie-like, and unless you administered on time, the effects were incurable. Toxicology he understood, but the visions and mind tricks?

He got no answers to that, only grim faces. However, Julian then announced that he had a service to head in the late afternoon...and he asked Sasuke and his wife to come with. Some of those at the clinic were also going to be there. Their hours were odd here, but he was happy that she would experience this with him. "How did you like your first day?" he asked, pecking her forehead as they were making way towards the car with Karin in the driver's seat.

She laughed. "It was crazy, but it felt like home. Helping these people..." Her eyes glazed with sadness. "...it breaks my heart that they live worse than we do."

Sasuke sighed. "I know. But," he added with a smile, "Karin here is taking us back to the church so we can just enjoy what they do best with their religion." He hadn't been to church since he was a boy, and when he became a man, he thought that there was little to do with heaven, and when you died, there was darkness. Afterlife and miracles had nothing to do with lives being saved...but maybe now he was willing to go on a _little_ faith with all of this. Perhaps voodoo had its perks for medicine after all.

If things worked out, maybe they could return someday to America with a new wonder drug that cured a person with the known zombie-like ailments.

"Oh, it was so last minute!" Sakura huffed when they were back at the house, where Itachi was able to function now on his own and insisted that they go out and get a taste of the culture without his help. "To decide to go to Father Julian's church services at this time of day - but you are all lucky I got ready for paradise like this!" He snorted and shook his head. _Women._

But she blew the air out of his lungs when they stood in front of each other. He was back in the white cotton shirt and pants, and she was in a white dress with a deep V-neck, long bell sleeves, and was sweet Spanish-like lace. And the wrap she secured around her waist, he finally got a look at it after the night they found Itachi missing from the manor: golden velvet patterned with rich velvet roses and fringes.

"Oh, you are both delightful!" Karin told them when they joined her at the car, and Itachi was there with a smile. "The gods are happy when you both look pretty and ravishing for them." She proved her point by appearing in a sleeveless lace dress that was fitted but pretty sheer in places, almost flaunting those parts of her body without shame.

Itachi gave them a beam with his eyes closed and teeth bared. Then he reached over and poked first Sasuke's forehead, and then Sakura, who squeaked with surprise like they were kids again.

When they were all at the church, Sasuke wasn't sure what was going on besides singing praises and banging the drums. Karin explained this was their way of speaking to their gods. And when the beat started getting into his system, the ladies going up - his wife included - to swish their skirts back and forth and wave their arms, their bodies swaying, he felt his own rise up to be among them. Never mind his body was going to another place, his skin breaking out into sweat.

Seeing Sakura dance took him back to their senior Halloween dance in high school, and he would remember that because it was the one that defined her. The bodice with sparkles and dimensional flowers, the skirt reaching her knees and pale pink layers...the forehead piece set with three white gems...and finally the necklace above her sweet bust, the aurora sparkling gem against silver leaves...the rainbow flashes setting his mind on fire...

 _...my mind...my body..._

 _Burning._

~o~

 _"The voodoo people are primitive. Their ways of life are shocking and horrifying - and a foreigner_ never _knows what awaits there."_

 _The face of Mikoto - pale and ashen. The young boy looked at her with heavy streaks of tears in his eyes, the firm and comforting hands of his older brother reassuring him that someone he loved was still here. "To know that she died shortly after our latest trip to the mountains...and a month after the servant..."_

 _"Itachi," Fugaku interrupted sharply, "we are leaving this place, and we are NOT to speak of this again. The sooner we leave, the sooner Sasuke here can forget about what happened here..."_

~o~

That memory...it was shortly after his mother died. Mikoto was supposed to have died from a fever...but then he learned she died after Karin's mother from _poisoning._ Who had done it? Fugaku was never the same after that. Sasuke never thought about that after all these years, yet it had come back to the surface just now.

Perhaps it was because he had been young and impressionable that he must have forgotten so easily somehow. In fact, the pain made him forget the exact day she died, and his father never let him and his brother talk about it again.

But the memory wasn't the only vision that came to his "possessed" mind; it was none other than the handwritten information on that one cat's cage: F.E.L.V. - _the physicians here have said it was a retrovirus, but couldn't identify which it was specifically._

Did this mean...?

"Sasuke!" Sakura grabbed him by his arms and brought him down to her face. "What is wrong? You were screaming!" she said worriedly. He took a few deep breaths to calm his thundering heart. He looked around himself and saw Karin also looking worried for him.

"I'm fine," he panted, smiling. "I just saw something...and we have work to do now, Sakura."

 **Oi, mystery is gonna be solved - but the fight is still far from over.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I would have gotten this out yesterday, but not only are we almost at the end, I went into a bit of an emotional fit because my Internet security expired late last night when I thought it had been paid for. Today was supposed to be the renewal day. I don't know if they were behind or what, but I got thirty days to worry about this, maybe sooner (hopefully).**

 **On a lighter note: yesterday was my dad's birthday, and today is Thanksgiving, so gobble-gobble everyone! :D**

Chapter Eight

Sakura did the honor of drawing his blood for him as soon as they were in the lab. In the experimental area, surrounded by caged felines and all blood samples taken from Itachi - but now Sasuke would examine his own to see the results himself.

In cats, the virus could result in four stages. In the first, the disease entered through the pharynx - behind the mouth and nasal, above the esophagus and larynx, going into the stomach and lungs, where the white blood cells began to replicate. Second stage: the blood stream was the next spot. The lymphoid system which was filled with the antibodies to fend off the infection was also targeted, before ending with the intestines and hemolymphatic - fluid in the blood commonly within vertebrae.

Felines usually had a strong immune system, but if any didn't have the strength to keep it at bay, the fifth and sixth stages were most vulnerable. He was talking the bone marrow, which would remain for the rest of the victim's life, as well as the important internal organs. _Every. Single. One._

And under the microscope, the match was perfect. His regular blood cells along with the familiar little worms... _oh, now we get to work._

Sakura was at the computer while he looked at the microscope samples. "So, the treatment is licensed in the states and in Europe," she informed him. "It's called Lymphocyte T-Cell Immunomodulator - or LTCI for short." It was a drug that increased the immune system. It was licensed to cats, but it could also be approved to other mammals who could have been infected. And everything they needed was around them in the shelves for the ingredients. His wife's eyes lit up an even brighter green than the sun.

First, they had to use one of the cleanest cats around and then inject the virus into it, so that it could create antibodies to be used as part of the formula. "Oh, Sasuke, I could kiss you right now!" He let her do just that on the lips.

The problem was solved: this disease looked so much like encephalitis which threw them all off, but it was really F.E.L.V., which had been altered to affect human beings. Now as to who could have done something like that...?

Both husband and wife froze at the person who came to mind, the only one they knew...

 _Shizune._ "Oh, God, no." Sakura stared down at the Petri dish, sharing the horror with him. "Why the hell would she do this?!"

Sasuke shook his head, having no answer as they continued to work, proceeding as planned. But in his mind, he was mapping it out: Shizune had taken care of his brother after Dr. Winsvold passed on, but she could also do veterinary work. But today she was missing and never once called back, and Itachi hadn't seen or heard from her either.

"She might be involved in Itachi's illness," he said aloud. _And there is Danzo. He is after the lands, although there is no solid proof. It's not like we can go after him without getting ourselves thrown behind those bars. Also -_ "Except there is something else. When she phoned me, she said she had something to show me that was a hunch, but then she vanished on us. If she's a part of this, then why would she be helping us?" It did make sense that she had discovered this on a hunch, because there was no way it could have been coincidence for him to figure it out on his own, or that vision at the church. But it didn't matter now.

What was important now was that by the end of the day, the antidote would be all set and ready, and Itachi would be cured at last. Then they would deal with Danzo together.

~o~

The antidote was almost ready, but morning would be the best time to give it.

"So, the oh-so charming," Sakura said sarcastically that evening when they all sat on the porch, enjoying some good rum, "Danzo is prepared to take the estate from you by all means necessary, so he gets the mysterious 'bigger man' to infect you with the virus, and use _obeah_ to render you the biggest fool in the eyes of the village - no offense."

Itachi smirked. "None taken," he said with a sip.

Karin cleared her throat as she arrived to join them with more drinks, sitting down to join herself. "So, wait," she said, "if this is all true, why did Shizune take this time with his first doctor, then herself, and now you two - why not let Itachi die?"

Sasuke cleared his throat, just to get the attention on him. "Because my wonderful brother wrote the will leaving it to me and my wife so we could take care of the estate, as well as half the property to the workers." And the trick was to keep his brother alive, yet unwell. All of which narrowed down to this: Dr. Winsvold hadn't been able to identify the virus on time before he died of the heart attack. But the real estate couple, they were in league with Danzo - but then they both ended up hacked to pieces. Someone was covering their tracks...but with Shizune missing and no proof other than assumptions, who was it?

"There's a piece that we are going to find if it kills us," Sasuke swore, and he meant every inch of it.

Itachi snorted. "Bad choice of words, _otouto_."

Sasuke grinned at him. "Not as bad as the one out there after you, big brother," he responded, at the same time he clinked his glass for the celebration, and Sakura and Karin both happily joined in. If they were lucky, tomorrow was the day.

Tomorrow, Itachi planned to head out and speak to his lawyers here in town about his power of attorney over the estate, to have the case against Danzo, but that would also lead to some problems. They could not mention that Danzo had been the one to plot against Itachi Uchiha, because an accusation without solid evidence always ended with "your word against mine". If only there was a way to get that.

That night, he and Sakura celebrated happily in bed amidst more tropical heat. When it was over, his wife panted against him, sweating with him. "At this rate," she gasped, "we might end up making a baby quickly."

Now that she said it, it might not be a bad idea after all. Sasuke could only laugh and fall asleep with her without those damnable dreams.

The next morning, the antidote was ready, and he wasted no time giving it to his brother, and then himself. They were both going to be fine. With that done, Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha embraced before they went their separate ways for the day. Itachi was to head to the law office, Sasuke had work to do in the lab, and Sakura would be at the clinic. But before that was done, he and his wife did the smart thing in phoning Tsunade and the others back in the states to let them know of the success they both made - but also for them to call tomorrow morning to check on them, and if they didn't hear back, then they might as well have been dead because of trouble with curing his brother.

Tsunade couldn't have been more happy that he'd done something that the country they were in had limited them from, and also apologized herself for putting himself in the position of his license suspended, but it was never her fault. His own actions had done that...and they also brought him back to his brother.

Sakura also told him they could run the clinic together now that Itachi would be well and independent from him, but today Sasuke needed a break and day off, although with Danzo hiding in the shadows and waiting to strike, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. Shizune...damn it all, he tried her phone only to find it laying in her room of the house. That might as well be a sign she could have been kidnapped, but it was too easy an assumption. She was still a suspect.

Hours went by, the sun began to dip, and finally Sasuke burst when he went into the house, tried his brother's phone and got nothing as well.

Itachi never came home all day.

~o~

He tried to be calm and was failing. Sasuke Uchiha didn't usually panic. When a patient's life was in danger, it was to be dealt with right away without trouble. He wasn't afraid of anything - only that the person would die if he did nothing. Those people went to him, his wife and their colleagues every day to be cured and saved.

But now that his older brother, once estranged and now close to him again, had been cured, he was now missing as was Shizune.

Sasuke tried to call his wife who was at the clinic, but damn it all! She hadn't come back either. _Sakura, if you were taken by whoever it was - oh, I know it was Danzo. Who else could it be? He has Itachi, as well. All that leaves is where he could have taken him._ Frustrated and desperate now, a small amount of calm present, he set about roaring for Karin, because if she was gone, too...

"Oh, Sasuke!" Saving grace, she was here. She was his last hope. He couldn't be more happy to see her. "Itachi - Itachi is gone! We have to go and find him!" Her face was streaked with tears of panic, and her hair was all over the place. Then she whirled around to one of the boarded windows when they heard those _drums_ again in the distance. "Doctor, the drums..."

He nodded. _That's it...the houmfort._ And the ceremony happening now was where they would go.

Itachi had said he had been going against his will, but with the disease cured, he should have had control of himself again, but physically taken by force was also possible. He went there prepared, taking Itachi's loaded gun and a knife in the kitchen he found, putting them into his khaki pockets. The temperature was getting low, but because of the humidity, he unbuttoned his dark blue shirt down by five to show more skin than necessary. This briefly got the attention of Karin before she quickly turned her eye away as they hurried to take her car and began to make way for the mountains.

What they should have expected was the damned road block - and in charge was none other than Danzo Shimura, Superintendent by force. "Get out of the way!" Karin shouted. "We're trying to get in!"

"The road is closed," the bandaged man said. "This place is very dangerous, so this is for your own safety to not go where you do not understand." _I knew it. He's keeping us from getting to Itachi._ Sasuke stood back and clenched his jaw, wishing he could punch the man himself. And what added to it was when he dared to call over to him: "And Dr. Uchiha, if you are wondering where that wife of yours is, you should know when we tried to take her in for questioning, she put up a great fuss and got away. I'd have assumed she'd be here with you now." Despite his fury, relief washed inside him. Sakura was safe, but why didn't she come back to him?

Karin went up into his face, curling her lip. "When I need to ask some rotten, crippled old slob for his opinion, I'd call," she hissed, before turning and joining Sasuke back in the car. He was impressed that she had more balls, but this was their only way through to the service. _Assuming she has a plan._

And how right he was.

They went back to the estate, to which Karin announced there was a way for them to get to his brother - and maybe Sakura - but the redhead hadn't tried it since she was a child. It was a metal shed in the garden, which she opened, and here they found themselves with pitchforks and farm tools on the walls, all of which was seen with a flashlight. "The original plantation owners before your father built an escape tunnel before any slaves got to them," she explained as she led the way. They stopped when they came to a lifted metal door in the ground, but when she opened it, she screeched and he yelled in surprise as _bats_ burst over their heads and took flight.

 _Bats...better than voodoo cultists waiting to pounce us here._

~o~

The worst was to come when they reached the end of the tunnel. It had been a hell of a walk, and when they finally got to a ladder reaching for a sewer drain, he could hardly stand the smell of earth and moist on his skin. Fresh air was a relief. But at least they were here, thanks to Karin. He couldn't thank her enough.

However, when they were running, Karin stopped and cried out with pain. She wasn't athletic, so her stomach began throbbing. He exhaled sharply; he wasn't cruel, but he couldn't be slowed down now. "Karin, if you want to rest up here, I will go on ahead -"

"No, I don't want you to go up there by yourself!" she protested.

Sasuke shook his head. He was going to be fine doing this alone... _I think. I'm armed and protected. Will that be enough?_

He left Karin there, unprotected, but if she could handle Danzo, could she take care of herself here? But before he left, he handed her the knife, deciding he could handle himself long-range, but did he make the right choice in giving her something that didn't have bullets? He ran and ran, past trees and shadows, always making sure he wasn't watched, but also keeping a hand on his remaining hidden weapon. Some time passed when he spotted a large form ahead - a totem pole. He was getting close.

A flash of light appeared before his vision. Someone was coming on car. Quickly, Sasuke jumped into the bushes behind the great statue, watching the vehicle come, and held his breath when he heard chanting from the people in the back - and saw one of them wearing a tribal mask. _They must be members of the cult._

He had to also wonder: _could that masked one be the "bigger man"?_ It wasn't long before he was startled out of his wits and had a hand slapped over his mouth. He jerked in the other man's arms - really, who had matching strength than another guy? - before he heard a voice behind him. "Don't scream, Dr. Sasuke."

"J.B.!" He whirled around and glared at the other. "Will you quit scaring me like that?!"

Their attention was directed when the car that passed him went into the clearing which was somewhat misted, either due to the weather or the torches and bonfire that were lit. There were the people he saw in his dreams - including the masked one. They were definitely here, and if J.B. came to him, while Karin was who knew where - _please be safe_ \- then Sasuke was going in now.

J.B. insisted they hide in the bushes again, which irritated the Uchiha to no end. But this spot gave them a watch of what was happening. He felt a sense of nostalgia return to him as he never once thought of this since he was a child, then his mother died, and now Itachi...

"Oh, God." _Speak of the devil, there he is._ His brother was down there, being held in place by two men painted with those hideous skull-faces, looking unhurt, but very exhausted from trying to fight and get away. J.B. could hardly contain himself.

"They're going to turn him into a zombie."

 **Next chapter is the grand finish, so it's in making and will be up before the day ends. :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Update (02/24/19): so, based on the review from PxdxlF, and not only because of me rereading it over for old errors to fix, I finally fixed a mistake in a move being spoiled particularly in this chapter. And I tried so long to ignore it but gave in because of pressure. :( Reviewer meant to say what they loved personally, but I am a different story altogether.**

 **The author has the final say in everything, particularly when they are creating the story. Yes, this is about storytelling more than what goes in in characters' minds, but I CHOSE to make it that way. I did other fics where we see what goes in in more characters' brains to get it rolling, but simple storytelling can be just as compelling.**

 **As for descriptions: sometimes less IS more, and the clothes aspect is part of me since I personally love fashion, and it subconsciously defines them which sometimes goes without saying. And I thought the atmosphere was perfect the way it was.**

 **Leaving a certain moment between Sasuke and the main antagonist, but see for yourself - if you are reading this for the first time.**

Chapter Nine

 _"They're going to turn him into a zombie."_

There were no words to describe the hate and rage Sasuke was feeling. This was what Father Julian warned him about: if you wanted to turn someone into a zombie, you'd have to have anger and hate in your heart, but he did not target it towards his own brother - but to the ones who were going to do this to him.

The masked person stood at attention, but they were not alone. _Shizune_ stood beside the "bigger man". _You...bitch. I knew it all along. You were in on this. If I get my hands on you, you're going to pay for this._

But beside her, there was Sakura with her hands tied in front of her - and she had a knife behind her back. Sasuke couldn't see it, but he was sure that if she tried anything, she would die. But her face was set in a stoned expression, her eyes blazing fire. She could never stop looking over at Itachi and wishing she could have done something about it.

 _What did they need my wife for? Or is it just because they saw her in the way - and they're waiting for me and J.B. now? All of this is Danzo's doing, and that masked bastard..._

He found himself looking at Shizune now, particularly at the look on her face, and it wasn't at all what he expected. She was hesitant and unsure if she should be doing this, even when she was handed a small vial - _the zombie poison._ She was being made to do this. "J.B., we have to get closer," he hissed to his companion, who agreed frantically but led the way since he knew this area better than Sasuke ever would. What he planned was just rash and could end ALL their lives, without careful thinking.

The closer they got, he saw Shizune standing before Itachi, shaking her head and saying something that Sasuke couldn't make out, as he couldn't Itachi. Whatever Itachi said, it made her dump the mustard yellow powder into her hand...

...and she blew it into his face.

 _NOOOOO!_

Itachi's eyes rolled up into his head. He made horrid choking noises as his body went limp. His nervous and muscular systems were shutting down fast. The celebration continued as his body began to be lowered into the wooden, unmarked casket prepared for him. _They're going to bury him underground. He'll eventually die down there._

He had to get over there soon before it was too late. There was no telling how long the ceremony would go on, and by the time they were done burying him, it was too late for Itachi. He and J.B. were going to act now. Drawing his gun out, Sasuke raised it and fired into the air, getting everyone's attention and halting the festivities.

The man with the machete held his weapon in place, until Sasuke aimed it and shot at his arm, making him yell and crawl away while holding where the bullet hit. J.B. jumped over and picked it up, going over to slice the ropes tying Sakura together and freeing her, then holding it as they moved towards the masked figure and held it in place. Strangely, the being didn't resist, maybe at risk of exposing their identity.

Sasuke pointed the gun at Shizune as she stood there, also not offering resistance. Why weren't the other worshippers not coming onto him? "Sasuke," the woman said, almost pleadingly, "this was foolish. You shouldn't even be here."

"Like I give a rat's ass," he snarled. "Now release my wife and dig my brother up before I shoot your brain out!"

"That would be pointless, Sasuke. Kill her and you gain nothing."

 _That voice..._

He turned his head at the same time Shizune looked in his direction, also stunned at seeing the identity of the masked man - or should he say, masked _woman?_ Long red hair, matching eyes, and spectacles - and an expression of calm and twisted in one.

 _Karin._

~o~

"You...bitch!" Sakura shouted, purely loathing, even more than Sasuke knew he was.

"Karin," he said, "you're the one who did all of this." _And you played a very good hand pretending to be our_ friend _, all to cover your own dirty tracks. But why...?!_ Damn it, that was a stupid question. The answers were all in front of him: the estate, what else? She and Danzo worked together.

Just then, three things happened at once that he was sure weren't really happening for the onlookers to see themselves. Fire burst from the pit, heading for J.B. and burning his back, sending him screaming and trying to get them all off of him.

Sakura - her hair was suddenly a swarm of snakes that began to tug and bite at her. Shrieking, she batted them away only to get bitten numerous times, but their venom didn't kill her.

Continually saying it wasn't real was pointless, for on Sasuke's part, his gun felt like it melted into molten iron, burning through his flesh and bone. He dropped it and hated his weakness, but voodoo magic proved strong in the moment more than logic and rendered them all powerless. He found himself held in place by none other than two of Danzo's men - which meant the bastard was here and confirming all his assumptions. Sakura and J.B. were also snatched into place.

Karin sneered as she approached him. "You know, in a way, it's like a family reunion - the Uchiha brothers bonded forever into zombiehood," she said slyly. All traces of the frightened, shy girl who was willing to help them, had been called family by Itachi, were gone and replaced by a sinister force that took them all off-guard.

"You traitor," Sasuke spat. "You're going to answer me right now. Why did you do all of this?" The smile turned into a snarl in seconds.

"How did you like growing up in the Uchiha household like a servant compared to your lifestyle, Sasuke? Me...an Uchiha myself."

Sasuke started in shock. _You...you're an Uchiha? How is that...oh, God in hell. Your mother and my father - it was true. But the other man who was supposed to be your real father and raised you?_ Karin seemed to read his mind, through his eyes. "I see you know what I mean now, Sasuke. Your eyes mirror your soul. Yes, your father Fugaku was MY father. The man whom my mother was married to - he knew because he and his wife could never have children of their own. I was born a month before you, but some years later when the truth slowly began to surface, he poisoned Mum so that Mikoto, his wife, wouldn't find out about me. What I told you about us coming here was true, but would you have believed me the first time had I said that I was your half-sister?" she asked snidely, shaking her head.

"But then Mikoto did find out, and she got the same treatment. Only it was made to look like tropical fever, due to lack of proper medics at the time." _Father made a mistake of his own, and both his mistress and his wife paid the price while he got away unscathed. And Karin was treated like an outcast, denied her birthright as one of us. Father, you son of a bitch, you took me and Itachi away so you wouldn't deal with a bastard child you sired with someone you considered a friend._

Everything made perfect sense. Fugaku took the coward's way out, and now his sons were suffering the sins of their father - at the hands of their half-sister and maid.

"Oh, I get it now," Sakura seethed, getting red eyes on her. "It was all revenge for your mother...and the money and everything with it." Karin snickered and walked her way, pushing pink hair out of her face and making Sasuke snap that she dared to touch his wife like that.

"You are correct, Sakura Uchiha. And tomorrow, both your body and your husband's will be found up here while your brother-in-law lies six feet under, suffering in himself and eventually rotting away with the rest of the earth he loved so much..."

"While you, the next Uchiha in line, get the estate," Sasuke growled. "In fact, who is going to believe you?" _Idiot, there's DNA testing. Of course they'll believe her._ He turned his attention to Shizune who had been all but forgotten in midst of the revelation of the dark family secret. "And YOU have explaining to do. What was your part in all of this?"

Shizune looked down at the ground. "I didn't want to give your brother the virus. I was made to do it. I would have been killed if I did not," she said, finally raising her eyes, which were glazed and sincere.

Sasuke was torn between believing her and not, when Karin snipped. "You heard her, brother." How dare she call him that! " _Obeah_ comes in handy with everyone. Hence she thought to betray me by telling you she had the answer you were seeking - yet you still discovered it without even exchanging words with her. I praise you for that." Her face fell. "But I also really liked you and Sakura, so I tried to get you both to leave." Sasuke had all but counted off the strange things going on since he and his wife came to this cursed place: the doll hanging in the shower, the lab messed up and another doll found. Nothing worked on them.

"You're going to pay for being sick."

"And one more thing," Karin said as if she didn't hear him, "I tried once more by...infecting you with the bit of cat spittle in your root juice made by none other than Shizune here - without her knowledge, of course." She smiled sweetly.

 _That's it...that's how the disease was passed onto me._ "Then you got rid of the real estate couple, as well," he said. "They were going to sell it to Danzo, who is also one of the last. But you used him to your advantage to harass us at every turn."

Karin grinned. "It was all good and fun - and now you and I both get to have some fun." She accepted the same vial from the man in red tribal garments, turning to _J.B._ "You blow this in J.B.'s face and turn him into a zombie - and then we move onto your wife so it is you and I, Sasuke. How does this sound now: I spare only you, and you shall do my bidding until I decide you are no longer useful...and you will meet the same fate as your family."

"Shut it, bitch! He won't do it!" Sakura shouted, only to be struck from behind and going limp. Karin snorted at her.

"What will it be, Sasuke? I can always _make_ you do it..."

He was all but trapped. The dancing and singing resumed, the drums picked up, and his wife was subdued while their only remaining friend - and Shizune he was only considering since she did play a part all along but was forced to - was at the mercy of the fate his beloved brother was suffering now.

The intense look in Karin's eyes made him decide that he had no choice, because something was controlling his every move.

He clutched the side of his pant leg as tightly as he could, even squeezing his own thigh in the process, as his way to hold onto himself while she willed him forward with her power. _The eyes are windows to the soul...but can you read my mind and see what I am thinking now?_

Julian said that in order to make a zombie, besides the powder, you had to have so much rage and hate in your heart, and he sure as hell did - but it was for the one who was making him move for the son of the man in his thoughts. The one he considered to be a friend now. He hated this woman so much, for lying and deceiving them, for taking his brother from him, and for making him...

Sasuke broke free and turned to blow the gold powder into Karin's face.

Chaos reigned supreme.

The men holding J.B. let him go to turn and run with the others of the ritual, screams shrilling into the night. Sasuke turned and threw a punch to a man coming his way, while J.B. picked up the machete and struck another into the stomach - and then a gunshot was heard.

It didn't take long for Sasuke to see Danzo on the ground, clutching his heart and choking as he glared up at the one who shot him. "Sakura!" he shouted to his wife who looked down at their tormentor with such murder in her eyes. She looked up at him and managed a crooked smile, having enjoyed this even though she was a doctor like him and was a life-saver. This time she made an exception and took a life, with a damned good reason. She turned the safety on and put it to her belt before running to him and hugging him tightly.

And Karin - she lay on the ground, eyes rolled up to show the whites and strangled with her gasping as she lost control of her body and herself. Slowly turning into a zombie herself. It was no more or less than she deserved.

Sasuke and Sakura let each other go so they could run to where Itachi was buried, picking up the shovels fallen, both shouting at J.B. to help them get him out so they could get him to Julian for the antidote powder.

 _Please don't be too late..._

~o~

It had been nine months since the incidents, and life had gone back to normal. There wasn't much to say other than how the mess was handled because the Uchiha brothers, Sakura and their friends had reconstructed together in Jamaica.

The small group - the couple, J.B. and Shizune - managed to dig Itachi's coffin out of the ground and tore it open to pull the body out. The eyes were wide opened but staring at nothing in particular. Together, they got him into J.B.'s car and sped to his father's house for the antidote. The one Sasuke created for the virus had only healed Itachi of his sickness, but it wasn't the kind of healing that could revive his body and soul.

 _With all of this crazy shit I've been through, I think there really IS such a thing as an afterlife...unless I'm wrong on that. This tropical religion stuff has made me see the line between science and magic blurred into one. It's no longer two separate things._

When Itachi recovered, Sasuke decided he didn't want to go back to the states, although first his wife was reluctant and objected since they had colleagues there, but this country showed that it needed help more than anything, and it was part of the Uchiha family. They decided that one day when Itachi passed away, they would take it for themselves, but that wouldn't be for a long time to come. Not only that, Sasuke really still needed a job since his brother was well again. In America, suspension still stood for less than two more years, so in the meantime, he and his wife would be here running the clinic. When his suspension period was up, he would be allowed to return.

Sakura could have gone back if she wanted, but she hated to be separated from her husband like this. Wherever he went, she followed.

The mess with Danzo and Karin was brought to knowledge of the town, but instead of them all being tried as vigilantes, they were hailed as heroes. Itachi was beloved, and if it had been another Superintendent, Sakura would have stood trial - but the town hated Danzo and had wanted him gone for the longest time. Someone else would replace him; hopefully it would be someone to usher them with fairer discipline.

Karin - currently in the clinic somewhere away from the physically living patients, unlikely to ever wake up, until the plug was pulled.

Eventually, nine months passed, bringing them all to the present. A party and christening at the Uchiha plantation was taking place. Sasuke became a proud father to a beautiful baby girl, whom he and Sakura chose to name Sarada. Attending were J.B. and Father Julian, a weepy Shizune, and much of the town. The little girl with her father's hair and eyes as well as her mother's resemblance was the talk of the day and a long while to come.

But not so much as her doting uncle Itachi, who had never looked better than ever, and got to hold her when the family pictures were taken. It was a joyous occasion that did not deserve to be ruined - not even by _obeah_ forces.

 **Thank you all for the support, glad you enjoyed this story of mystery, horror, supernatural and family, and hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving.**


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